


Probably Pineapple Pizza

by Sleeplessstrawberry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, I suck at tags, Keith works at a tea shop, Lance delivers pizza, M/M, Matt and Shiro are a couple, Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Planning and matchmaking, Slow Burn, Trans Male Keith (Voltron), and they are goals, im trying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 14:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11716110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleeplessstrawberry/pseuds/Sleeplessstrawberry
Summary: ”Hunk, my man, do you have a pizza ready for one Keith?””Just put it in the oven. He likes pineapple.””Oh, dear, I guess he isn't cute then,” Lance said while shrugging. Hunk rolled his eyes again.”Actually,” Hunk continued while glancing at the screen again, ”if this is the same Keith Frida delivered to last week, he’s quite an eye pleaser. I think it’s the same address.” Lance’s eyes shone up and his permanent grin grew wider.”Dear holy spirits, please let it be the same Keith,” he said, hands clasped together and face towards the ceiling.In which Keith falls in love with a pizza delivery boy with a cute smile and warm skin...





	1. Order placed

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really short chapter that I'm uploading to motivate myself to write more, and what better motivation than le OTP?

It had been another shitty day for Keith. He was getting really tired of shitty days. When he thought of it, he couldn’t remember the last time he had a good day. Every day was either shitty or just okay. Like fine, everything can’t be great all the time but he could at least get a couple good days a week? Or is that too much to ask maybe.

 

Keith slammed his apartment door behind him as he walked in, accidentally startling his cat who was sitting on the back of the sofa.

   ”Sorry, Straw. Didn’t mean to scare you.” He leant forward and scratched her behind her ears before taking off his shoes and throwing his keys in the bowl on the coffee table. Then he bowed down and rubbed his nose into Strawberry’s fur and breathed in, eyes closed. He sighed heavily and tried to put things in perspective.

 

   To summarise, his job was, well, shit. The ironic thing was that his work hours were great, from 10 am to 6 pm, five days a week. Or you know, maybe six or seven days a week, with one to two hours extra because they were understaffed and the company refused to hire more people. He did get paid for the extra hours, but not enough to be a valid compensation. His boss was always stressed but on the whole a really good person, who’d just gotten stuck in an impossible situation. The thing was, Allura, his boss, loved her job, she really did but her new boss was too focused on expanding and selling more but without actually giving the employees any rights or reasonable conditions. During the last couple of months, the new boss had changed the location of the shop to a bigger premises, but only hired two new employees, which was way too few to manage the move. In conclusion. It was shit now. And it was sad, because Keith had loved his job, loved his boss, actually gotten along with his coworkers and he was finally getting back on track and his life back together.

 

   And then some corporation heir had bought the shop and driven it straight into hell. What kind of shop is it you may ask? It’s a fucking tea shop. They sell tea and chocolates. It sounds like a calm and relaxed job, with flowers and honey sparkles, but no. Oh no. It was a nightmare. They weren’t even allowed to drink tea on their shifts. In a tea shop. In a fucking, adorable little tea shop.

 

   Today he had to get in early to check inventory. His colleague, Mason, had called in sick, five minutes before he was supposed to start his shift, so Keith was left to manage the shop on his own. This colleague of his was the new bosses nephew or whatever and didn't actually have the merits to do the job. Or any kind of job really. He was useless. But Allura wasn't allowed to fire him since he was related to the boss. It sucked. It really did. Keith did his best to firstly, calm down, and then to do the work of two people himself. He really should have called Allura, but she had the day off, and that was, after all, rare. After an hour or so, he gave in to the stress and called her, and twenty minutes after that she showed up like a whirlwind.

 

   Not to mention, the new boss showed up to check up on them and shouted at Allura for a full ten minutes about how much of a bad work she was doing. He threatened to fire her, which in the end were empty threats since Allura technically still owned the shop. Somehow. Keith didn’t get it. It was complicated and totally fucked up. Allura was supposed to be on top. Everything had worked fine before, with the old boss. They and Allura had an understanding and even though they had been the boss on paper Allura was really the one who pulled the rains.

 

   On top of this, Keith had had several rude customers, one broken teapot and no breaks what so ever, aside for ten minutes when there had been no customers and he could sneakily try to eat his lunch behind the counter. He was hungry, exhausted and pissed. A shitty day to say the least

 

   After petting Strawberry for a solid fifteen minutes Keith dragged his feet towards the kitchen to make dinner only to realise that his fridge was practically empty. He slammed the fridge door shut and rested his forehead against it. He was supposed to have gone to the store on his way home but forgot to in all shittiness. He considered going straight to bed, but his stomach objected loudly. Keith sighed, again, and went to open his laptop. His relation to fast food was complicated, to say the least. In middle school, he’d been one of those kids whose parents worked all the time and who rarely had enough free time after work to cook a full meal, so they’d often just let Keith order something in. His classmates though had generally been rich snobs, and fast food was for the poor or family road trips. In high school, pizza had been for drunken parties or post-exam-crying-food. Basically, it wasn’t real food, and since Keith was someone who’d basically grown up on takeout and fruit had been left out of basically everything. Ironic how judging kids can be and how it totally ruins a person’s childhood.

 

   He automatically went to the website of the pizza place he’d decided he liked best and quickly clicked in his toppings. And yes, he liked pineapple on pizza. In the ”Special Requests” box he tiredly wrote: My day has been the worst please cheer me up or i might die and if I'm dead I can’t eat pizza.

> _My day has been the worst please cheer me up or i might die and if I'm dead I can’t eat pizza._

 

   Only after completing the order he realised that he’d probably made a fool of himself but at the moment he simply didn’t care.

 

* * *

 

  
  
   ”Hey, Lance, there’s a special order for you,” Jeremy shouted from the office.

   ”It better be a cute person,” Lance shouted back while winking at Hunk. Hunk rolled his eyes, but smiled, and turned around to take out a pizza from the oven. Lance and Hunk had been best friends since forever, and when Lance’s brother Jeremy said they needed more people at the Flower palace pizza place, they signed up in an instant. They’d started out as delivery boys but when the chef found out Hunk actually was really good at cooking she took him under her wing and made him her apprentice. Lance liked delivering. It may not be the job with the most status, but he liked to drive around and bringing people their food. Like, who didn’t like food? He got to meet a lot of different people and make them happy, flash them smiles and complimenting them on their choice of toppings or door mats.

   ”Lance, you know I can’t actually see them through the screen,” Jeremy said when Lance showed up in the doorway. ”They don’t have to click in whether they’re cute or not.”

   ”They should.” Jeremy sighed. He was tired. He was the eldest in the clan of siblings and as a young person of 27, he was in a stable relationship with a one-year-old at home. Sometimes he just didn’t have the extra energy to keep up with Lance.

   ”Keith here,” he read off the screen, ”has had a bad day and needs cheering up. So put on a smile and go and please our customer.”

   ”Keith, huh,” Lance mumbled. ”Will do, sir,” Lance said with a stiff salute before going back to the kitchen.

 

   Hunk took a last look at the screen and mentally checked all the toppings of the last order and shifted his gaze towards the pizza in front of him. He hadn’t forgotten anything and putt it in the oven while humming to the song that was audible from the radio. He picked up a box and folded it to make it ready for usage.

   ”Hunk, my man, do you have a pizza ready for one Keith?” Lance asked from somewhere behind Hunk. Hunk jumped a little, surprised, but shook it off and turned around to answer his friend.

   ”Just put it in the oven. He likes pineapple.”

   ”Oh, dear, I guess he isn't cute then,” Lance said while shrugging. Hunk rolled his eyes again.

   ”Actually,” he continued while glancing at the screen again, ”if this is the same Keith Frida delivered to last week, he’s quite an eye pleaser. I think it’s the same address.” Lance’s eyes shone up and his permanent grin grew wider.

   ”Dear holy spirits, please let it be the same Keith,” he said, hands clasped together and face towards the ceiling. Hunk laughed and took a pen out to write a message to the mysterious Keith on the inside of the box.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was lying on the carpet with Strawberry rolled up on his chest, blankly staring at the imagined cracks and patterns in the ceiling when the doorbell rang.

   ”Straw you have to get off now, my food is here,” he said while lifting his head up to look at his cat. Strawberry’s ears shot up as a reaction to the word ”food” but other than that she didn’t make an effort to move at all.

   ”I wish it didn’t have to come to this,” Keith mumbled un-excitedly while pushing his cat off of him. She gave him a glare but didn’t walk away so he scooped her up and held her with one arm as he walked towards the door.

 

   When he opened it he could feel a faint smell of pizza and his hunger, which had been dormant for a while, woke up again. Keith reached for his wallet which was in his jacket pocket without looking at the delivery boy. His social awkwardness wasn’t very good with these situations. It always felt vulnerable to let a random person stare into his home like this. The money went from his pale hand to a darker, warmer one.

   ”What a beauty,” the delivery boy said after giving Keith his pizza. He reached out to pet Strawberry between her ears. ”Your cat is really pretty too.”  
It took a solid moment before Keith realised that he was the beauty referred to and blushingly he finally looked up and got lost in blue eyes.

   _Oh no_ , he thought. _He’s cute_.

   ”Thanks…” Keith said slowly with a frown between his eyebrows and blush on his cheeks. The cute boy smiled even wider. His smile was confident, which made Keith nervous.

   ”What’s their name?” the boy asked his whole attention on Strawberry now. Keith took a step backwards to put the pizza away before turning back towards Mr Cute.

  ”Her name’s Strawberry,” Keith answered and put his other arm around the cat so she would be more comfortable.

   ”Aaw, that’s adorable. You’re Keith, right? Or, you know, the order said that you’re Keith.”

   ”Yeah, I’m- I’m Keith,” Keith replied.

 

   Wow, Keith. What incredible social skills you have. Keith banged his head against a wall mentally while staring at the beautiful Latino boy who wholeheartedly was scratching Strawberry while talking to her like most people talk to animals.

   ”You are so cute, yes you are, such a pretty name for a pretty kitty, yes of course. Pretty kitty with a pretty human.” At his last words, he looked up at Keith with that smile again. If this had been a cartoon there would have been that like sparkle from his teeth that confirmed his attractiveness. Oh dear.

 

Keith had nothing to say to that, so he just stared with his mouth open.

   ”I’m Lance,” Lance, apparently, said. ”Heard you had a bad day, so I figured I’d come over and crack some jokes or something, but yeah, that plan flew right out the window, didn’t it. But never mind me, you wanna talk about it?” Lance was still petting Strawberry with one hand while the other one was in his pocket. His facial expression generated genuine concern, which only made Keith more confused. A random person called him pretty and then offered himself to listen to Keith’s problems? No this must be a part of the job. They probably only hire the most charismatic people so they can charm the customers. He didn't want to be a bother.

   ”Nah, just work you know. We’re understaffed and all that. But thank’s anyway.” This boy’s charm was really working on him. Deep breaths Keith, deep breaths.

   ”That sucks, man. I hope it gets better,” Lance shrugged with a sympathetic look. He gave Straw a final stroke before putting his hand into his other pocket and taking a small step backwards. ”Enjoy your pizza. I don’t know how you’ll do it though since it has pineapple on it, but you know,” he shrugged again. Keith rolled his eyes as he reached for the door handle.

   ”I hope we meet again,” Lance said over his shoulder before the door closed between them.

   ”Oh, my god,” Keith whispered with his forehead against the door.

   ”Oh, my god,” Lance whispered with his forehead against the stairwell wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Semi important info, idk: I don't know how this story will progress and how fast I'll be able to write/upload. I will definitely NOT abandon it, that is a promise I can give right here and now and forever. Other than that I don't have much to say.)
> 
> I hope you liked this preview of what's about to come! Tell me your thoughts or just what your favourite colour is?  
> You can find me on tumblr @sleeplessstrawberry
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. I had no idea what to name this, so the title has been "pen pineapple apple pen" for the longest time


	2. Order processed

   ”Okay, Frida was holy freakin’ right!” Lance shouted at Hunk as soon as he opened the door to the passenger seat.

   ”About what?” Hunk asked confusedly while getting in.

   ”This Keith boy! He was really cute. He looked so tired but in an adorable ’I want to protect you from the world’ kind of way and he was holding his cat when he opened the door and he named his cat Strawberry. I mean, it’s meant to be right? With mine named Blueberry. And, oh Hunk, I made a total fool of myself. I had some jokes prepared and a motivational speech and everything to cheer him up. And I flirted with him.” These sentences were shot out of Lance’s mouth at a speed that only a few people could handle. He barely took a breath in the middle and if Hunk hadn’t been Hunk and Lance’s best friend in the entire world, he wouldn’t have gotten a word of what Lance just said.

   ”Wait a minute. Did you flirt with him? Like for real?”

   ”Yes!” Lance flung his arms up in the air, one hand hitting the driver seat window with a thud and the other accidentally hitting Hunk in the face with a slap. ”Oh, sorry.”

   ”No, it’s okay. But how? Like what did you say?” Hunk turned in the seat to throw his backpack on the back seat and Lance turned the key to start the car.

   ”He opened the door and at first I just saw the cat and I thought, wow that is a cute cat, I’m gonna say that. And then I saw his face, and Hunk, I’m a believer.” Hunk rolled his eyes. ”And so I said ’what a beauty’ while petting his cat and then I said-” Lance paused and took a deep breath before finishing his story. ”I said ’your cat is really pretty too’.” Hunk whistled.

   ”That was smooth.”

   ”In any other situation, maybe, but I came on way too strong. And I was objectifying. If he’d been a girl I would have been super creepy and should be locked up. He probably got really uncomfortable and now he’ll be afraid of pizza for the rest of his life!”

   ”Lance, I’m gonna stop you right there,” Hunk said before Lance could go any further. ”You might have made his day, he needed cheering up so you complimented something simple and obvious, like his appearance, and his cat, which he probably appreciated. If nothing else, he probably appreciated your effort. Let’s just wait and see if he leaves a review of the service, alright?”

   ”You’re probably right,” Lance said as he slowed down at the yellow light. ”For the time being, I’m just gonna concentrate on the fact that his face was a pleasant view, and repress that I probably disgraced myself-”

   ”Lance!”

   ”Sorry, I’ll stop.”

   ”Lance,” Hunk said while turning towards him in the passenger seat. ”If this doesn’t go the way you want to, you literally never have to see him again. And if he orders pizza again you can deliver it and apologize, right?”

   ”Yeah…” Lance said hesitantly. Hunk patted him on the shoulder and turned back.

   ”You know I’m right, and besides, you can’t do anything about it now anyway so just let it be for the moment.” Lance let Hunk’s advice sink in before cracking a big smile.

   ”You’re always right, Hunk. You’re the best, man.” Lance held out his hand towards Hunk for a moment, who took it and squeezed. Lance squeezed back before placing his hand back on the steering wheel to make the last turn onto the street where the two of them lived.  


* * *

 

  
   Keith didn’t know for how long he was standing with his head against the door, but eventually, Strawberry got bored and wiggled out of Keith’s grip. That was the wakeup call for him and he remembered that he still had a pizza to eat. A pizza that was delivered by a cute person. A very cute person. Keith sighed and turned around. Strawberry was nowhere to be seen so Keith just took the pizza box, went to the kitchen to get scissors and sat down on the sofa and opened his laptop again. He was half through an episode of Arrow (he was constantly telling himself that he wasn’t one of ”those guys” who liked superheroes, he just casually, very casually, enjoyed some of them), so he pressed play and continued the episode as he opened up the pizza box.

There was a message scribbled inside the lid with a black marker.

 

 

>    _You needed cheering up so we send our cutest, most charming guy._  
>  _If it worked, leave this message on our review web page: Flowers don’t fear lawnmowers._  
>  _/Hunk <3_

 

   Keith frowned but smiled. It had cheered him up. After cutting up a slice with the scissors (who even has a pizza cutter these days when you can just use scissors) he paused the episode to go to the Flower palace pizza place website. He didn't want to leave his real name so he just put a K in the name box before writing Flowers don’t fear lawnmowers in the review box. He also filled up four stars out of five. Nothing can be that perfect after all. Only after clicking ”post” he realized that if this was their most charming delivery boy they probably used him a lot, and calling Keith beautiful was probably just a selling tactic. He sighed for like the thousand time this evening and continued eating his pizza, with less enjoyment than the moment before. What was the delivery boy’s name? Lance? Probably. It wasn’t Vince and it wasn’t Hans. There was an L in the beginning and an -ance in the end. Probably Lance.

   If Keith had been attracted to girls he would have totally fallen for Emily Rickards by now. Her performance as Felicity Smoak in Arrow was just breathtaking. He loved her character. Smart, cute, a bit awkward. Human. Strawberry suddenly jumped up beside him and stared not so discretely at the pizza.

   ”No, this is mine. You can’t have any. It’s human food. And you are a cat. Are you aware of the fact that you are a cat, madam?” Strawberry didn’t pay any attention to Keith. ”Meow meow,” he continued, without any success.

   ”Mrraow,” Strawberry meowed back after a while, now looking at the pizza in Keith’s hand.

   ”Nooo, honey, you aren’t getting any. If you’re nice you could get some sweets.” At that Straw did react and jumped down from the sofa to trot away to the kitchen. Keith pressed pause once again and followed his cat. After giving a couple of sweets to her he scooped her up again and let her climb onto his shoulder.

   ”Miss Cat, ma’am. Are you aware of the fact that that is your current occupation, ma’am? Ma’am, please answer my question, ma’am.” This went on for quite a while and wasn't exactly a new ritual in Keith’s and Strawberry’s household. After the rest of the pizza was placed in the fridge Keith went on to change into his pyjamas and to brush his teeth. When he leant forward to wash his face Straw went on and balanced on his back before pattering back to his shoulder. She was funny that way. When she’d decided to stay in one place she would stay in that place, even if it was a moving place, like Keith.

   ”Are you happy up there, huh?” he mumbled and reached up a hand to scratch her under her chin. ”But ma’am, do you remember that pizza boy, ma’am?” He put his toothbrush in his mouth. ”He wab bery cute bon’t you abwee, ma’am?”

  
   When finally in bed, Keith tried to repress his anxiety that was growing. He liked his work, he really did, except that he didn’t. He really didn’t want to go to work tomorrow. Keith buried himself down in his mattress and turned his pillow to the other side and the cold embraced the side of his face. He drifted off to sleep. He was momentarily awakened by Strawberry walking around on the duvet, creating that oddly safe feeling only a cat on a duvet can create. Then a half asleep Keith half unconsciously dreamt and/or fantasised about a cute pizza delivery boy with warm skin and a pretty smile.

 

 

  
   Back at work. Mason, who hadn’t shown up yesterday, was a no-show again. Keith wasn’t surprised. Finally, Allura had figured out a system for when the spoiled, untidy Mason didn’t come to work when he was supposed to, and that was to call in another one of their colleagues ”unofficially” but only ”after” Mason didn’t show. So basically there was always a backup. Translation: They kind of treated Mason like his name on the schedule was a blank space. So, thank the heavens, Keith wasn’t alone today. Chelsea, a short, round girl with red pigtails, was currently in the back room moving boxes around while humming to the tune of ”Phantom of the Opera”. Keith liked Chelsea. She was a bit naive in some areas but overall really good at her job and a joy to be around. She was a stereotype of the happy coworker who always brings cookies and annoys everyone. She did bring cookies sometimes, but she wasn’t annoying, far from it. They got along well, she and Keith. So yeah, he liked her. He didn’t like Mason.

   He wasn’t saying it ironically as if he meant the opposite. Mason wasn’t the ”spoiled rich brat” who was incredibly attractive and shallow and who then fell in love with the poor emo boy and learned to love and to be himself without his money. Mason was ugly, to say the least, and without his money and his relatives, he was basically nothing. Take that away and you have a kid with no skills what so ever, no personality and barely any relevant feelings like empathy and joy. Just another one of those white kid’s with rich parents. Besides, Mason is such a common name? Who even names their children after common names anymore? Didn’t his parents have any inspiration?

   ”Hey, whatcha thinking ’bout?” Chelsea asked in her thick accent as she went through the back door and entered the shop to stand beside Keith behind the counter.

   ”How stupid Mason’s name is,” Keith answered with a growl. Chelsea giggled before looking around and covering her mouth with her hand.

   ”We shouldn’t be mean you know, he might not be reliable but it’s not his fault his parents named him a stupid name.”

   ”Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Keith said and stretched out his body to try and relieve some tension. ”But he’s an asshole and wouldn’t be able to keep a job if his life depended on it. I’m sure he has his problems but he needs to realize that the earth circles around the sun and not the sun around him.” Chelsea giggled again before the little bell above the door alerted them that they had a customer.

   A woman with a stroller walked in. She had that typical tired expression that parents often had, but that didn’t hide her natural glow. She looked like a really happy person. Chelsea immediately put on her most welcoming smile and said hello to make the woman know that they were there if she needed any help. Keith tried to look laid back and available at the same time. If there was something he hated, it was when he was in a shop and the staff was breathing just over his shoulder to keep track of his every move in case he needed anything, wanted to buy something or wanted to steal something. It made him avoid going to stores alone if possible. Therefore he tried to not be creepy when he had customers.

   Chelsea went over to small talk with the woman and did the inevitable and started to talk about her baby.

   ”Wow! They are really cute!” Chelsea exclaimed when she looked at the baby Keith couldn’t yet see. ”’m sorry, you probably feel like the most interesting thing is your child right now.”

   ”Oh no, I don’t mind at all,” the woman replied. ”All I talk about is her anyways.” Her smile was genuine.

   ”I really like babies, but I’m too young to have one, of course. What’s her name?”

   ”This is Rosie. She’s named after my husband’s mother, who is the most wonderful woman in the world. As a girl of divorce and a mother that wasn't around much, it’s great to be in a family that sticks together, you know.” She paused and smiled embarrassedly at Chelsea. ”Sorry, I tend to overshare.”

   ”Don’t apologize! I’m exactly the same, Keith here is always worried I’ll scare away the customers with my talking,” Chelsea said and made a gesture in Keith’s direction. Keith gave a faint smile and waved towards them like he was saying away Chelsea’s words. Baby Rosie made a noise from the stroller that sounded like a high-pitched scream but not an unhappy one, more like trying to get attention. After that Chelsie and the woman discussed tea flavours and coffees. She, apparently, was a coffee drinker while her husband only drank tea. Tea was just flavoured water but with an extremely bland taste, she thought. Her husband hated coffee with a burning passion.

   ”We complement each other,” she said while smiling. Keith was still standing behind the counter but the woman’s smile was contagious and he smiled with her and Chelsie, who continued to babble with the woman. Keith stood and picked invisible strands of hair from his shirt and looked around for something to do. After a while he grew tired of standing and looking proper, so he let his back slouch and leant against the counter, figuring that the woman, who was the only customer in the shop, wouldn’t care too much about his posture.

   Chelsea let the woman smell and look at almost every coffee flavour in the entire shop while Keith had an unofficial staring contest with baby Rosie. Then suddenly the woman's cell phone rang and she excused herself from the jar she currently had her face in and turned away to take the call.

   ”Hi, Jeremy. Yes I’m buying coffee. No, I’m not forgetting the tea. Yes, I know what tea you drink we’ve been married for six years.” She looked at Chelsea and rolled her eyes.

   ”Yeah she’s awake,” she said and turned to coo at Rosie. ”Is it daddy calling? Yes it’s daddy calling. He’s checking up that I’m not forgetting about his tea even though I never do, yes he is.” Rosie answered with words only she understood. ”She tells you to chill. Yes. I love you too.” She hung up.

 

  
   After the woman had bought her coffee and the super-important-tea-she-couldn’t-possibly-allow-herself-to-forget and the bell had closed behind her and the stroller Chelsea turned towards Keith.

   ”If that’s what marriage is like, I want it. She was so nice. I love it when we get customers we can actually talk to,” she said while walking around the counter to join Keith behind it.

   ”Yeah, she seemed like a really nice person,” Keith agreed. He didn't like most people, he wasn’t a people person, but he wouldn’t mind having someone like that woman in his life.

   ”So what are you up to later?” Chelsea leant against the counter beside Keith and picked up a pen. She started to doodle on a paper which had been forgotten there the day before so the notes weren’t important anymore.

   ”Shiro’s coming by with his boyfriend. He feels sorry for me with the work conditions, you know, so he insisted to cook for me today.” His colleague sighed dreamily at the thought of Shiro.

   ”I’m telling you, if he was single, I’d be all over him,” she said with her chin in her hand. ”With his consent of course. I’m not a creep.” She held her hands up in defence. Keith rolled his eyes. By now he was used to Chelsea’s silly talk about Shiro. Shiro was kind of Keith’s brother, or cousin really, and objectively he was, well, attractive. They were cousins by law but not by blood but it couldn’t matter less. Shiro and Keith were as close as brothers. Keith’s mother’s sister and her husband had adopted Shiro about the same time as Keith’s mother had disappeared, or left or whatever. His father had to struggle to get by so Keith stayed a lot at his aunt’s house. Shiro had been in foster care for some time since his parents had died and knew a lot about broken homes. They became each other’s safe points in the universe and somewhere between point A and point B Keith had realized that Shiro was above average when it came to exterior looks. On the other hand, Keith was above average when it came to sarcasm, which made it kinda even.

   Keith was used to people swooning over Shiro by now and rarely felt jealous since he rarely was interested in anyone anyways. Shiro amazingly believed everyone just exaggerated when it came to him. He could have been the biggest fuckboy in the world. Thank the heavens he wasn’t.

   Chelsea went from babbling about Shiro to babbling about other people she found good looking and Keith found himself laughing and actually being kind of happy.

 

* * *

  
  
   ”Huuunk,” Lance groaned. ”Huuuuunk?”

   ”What?” Hunk mumbled from the other side of his computer screen.

   ”I can’t stop thinking about him,” Lance said, poking Hunk in the ribs with his foot. Lance was sprawled out on the sofa, head almost hanging off the edge due to him being scrambled together since he couldn't lay stretched out with Hunk sitting at the other end.

   ”Who?” Hunk didn’t look up from his screen. He was doing something important, Lance guessed.

   ”You know who,” Lance pouted.

   ”I don’t?”

   ”Keeeeith!” Hunk smiled, still without looking at Lance.

   ”Keith who?” He said.

   ”Ugh,” Lance said and sat up straight. ”You know who Keith is, Hunk.”

   ”Oh you mean the cute boy you delivered pizza to and flirted with and desperately want to see again?”  
   Lance groaned loudly and rolled over so he fell to the floor, face first. Hunk rolled his eyes.

   ”Drama queen.”

   ”I’m not a drama queen,” Lance mumbled into the carpet.

   ”You know what?” Hunk asked, still smiling towards the screen.

   ”What?”

   ”I bet Keith wants to see you too.”

   ”How could you possibly know that?”

   ”I just do,” Hunk said simply. What Lance didn't know was that Hunk had a sparkle in his eyes ’cause he was looking at the review page for the Flower palace pizza place and was currently reading the words ”Flowers don’t fear lawnmowers”.

 

  
   A couple of days later Lance got a call while he was out on a delivery. He’d delivered two pizzas to some guy he could just describe as a classic, sad, gamer guy. Overweight, sweaty and in a desperate need of a shave. He felt how the guy somehow wanted to socialize and while Lance did believe in giving everyone a chance, he did not approve of the hentai shirt this guy was wearing. He was saved by the phone call from Jeremy. Lance picked up his vibrating phone and held it up in front of the guy with a face that said ”Sorry, ’d love to chat but I gotta take this,” and turned away as he accepted the call.

   ”Whaddup, bro?” He could hear Jeremy suppress a sigh at the other end.

   ”You have another delivery to make, like right away, so get back as fast as you can alright?”

   ”I will! Without speeding, I promise.” He hung up. The speeding part had been a joke. Not that he was joking about not speeding! Jeremy knew very well that Lance would rather set a house on fire than speed in traffic without a legitimate reason. He might seem careless but Lance had respect for such things as traffic rules, much to the delight of his parents.   He hummed along to the Coldplay song on the radio, who would have believed that Viva la Vida would still be semi-popular today, huh. A lady walked on the sidewalk beside the road with three different dogs in separate leashes. Were there such a thing as a crazy dog lady? Maybe it isn’t frowned upon owning many dogs the same way people judge others who own many cats. He’d have to think about that later. Lance often got into trails of thoughts that never really got finished and he had a mental box where he put all of those subjects, mostly so he could bring them up with Hunk later. If he remembered them, which he rarely did to be honest.

 

  
   ”Hunk, my man!” Lance shouted as he stepped into the pizzeria kitchen.

   ”Lancey Lance!” Hunk answered with a huge grin. For anyone else, it was a perfectly normal smile, but Lance could see that there was something behind it.

   ”…What’s up?” he asked suspiciously.

   ”The spirits have answered your prayers,” Hunk said as he reached for a pizza box. ”The one and only Keith has ordered a pizza again.” Hunk laughed at Lance’s facial expression. Lance’s eyes had shone up and he got a tingly feeling somewhere above his belly button.

   ”Told ’ya you’d see him again,” Hunk said and gave Lance the box. Lance looked at the box in his hands and when he looked up at Hunk again he had a worried expression.

   ”Are you sure I should deliver this? I mean, I kinda creeped him out last time.”

   ”You don't know that! You’re just assuming, and your assumptions are coming from overthinking and self-doubt. Just go and do your best, feel the situation, make the most of it.” Hunk put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance leaned against Hunk for a moment before taking a deep breath and standing up straight. He brushed off the flour left from Hunk’s hand and made himself ready.

Or at least, he tried to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, if some sentences are written twice, please do tell, sometimes it gets messed up when I transfer the text from my document to here and I might have missed something.  
> Second of all, I'm getting really into this story, I have no idea how long it might become.  
> Third of all, yes, Keith is watching Arrow because I was when I wrote that bit. I love Felicity to death.
> 
> Also, cats, cats everywhere. You might sense a pattern? Ideas or guesses to what I'm gonna name the kitty counterparts to yellow, black and green? (talk to me im lonely)
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!


	3. Order recieved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance and Keith meet again and boi... BOI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it self-centric to say that I give myself feels with my own writing? If not, then bless me, I'm awesome. If it is, I'm saying the same but a little quieter.

   When Keith had decided to order pizza again, he wasn’t sure if he dared to request that the delivery would be made by that Lance guy again. He didn’t want to make him uncomfortable or anything. Nevertheless, he still wanted pizza. Keith skimmed through the review page where he’d left the message after last time. He tried to look for similar messages as his, or others that didn’t make sense. It might be a sales tactic, to make every customer feel special. But Keith couldn’t find any other messages about flowers or lawnmowers or anything like that. The reviews were a mix of opinions on the pizzas and the delivery times.

  
   After a deep breath and an internal pep talk, he wrote: ”The flowers await the lawnmower” in the request box and placed the order before he could change his mind. He regretted clicking the button as soon as he’d done it. This was going to be the most agonising wait for food ever.

 

* * *

 

  
  
   When Jeremy got an alert that told him they had a new order, and he read the special request he frowned at the screen and asked Frida if she knew what it meant just as she passed by the office door.

  
   ”I have no clue. Maybe it’s code for something?” she answered with her perfectly painted eyebrows frowned just like Jeremy’s. ”I’ll go ask Hunk.”

  
   Hunk got the biggest smile when Frida asked him if he knew something about it.

  
   ”Oh man, this is great!” He clapped his hands together to dust of the flour from his hands, quickly brushed off his apron and ran out of the kitchen towards Jeremy’s office.

  
   ”Wha-?”

  
   ”I’ll explain later!” Hunk shouted back at his confused colleague who stood in a cloud of flour. Frida shrugged and went back to what she was supposed to do. She’d find out sooner or later anyway.

  
   Hunk flew into Jeremy’s office and threw himself down in the chair beside the door. Jeremy was used to his younger brother’s strange and energetic behaviour but Hunk was usually a bit calmer. This situation was clearly an exception.

  
   ”Okay, so you remember when you gave Lance that delivery to the guy who’d had a bad day?” Hunk said while he leant forward, excitement showing in his body language.

  
   ”Vaguely?” Jeremy answered with a crooked eyebrow, now curious to find out what this was all about.

  
   ”Well the person he delivered to happened to be the same guy Frida delivered to a couple weeks ago and she said he was very pretty. Anyhow, I wrote in the pizza box that he should leave a message on our review page if he appreciated that we sent Lance over. The message was ”Flowers don’t fear lawnmowers”, and he actually left the message! Also, Lance found him cute and accidentally flirted with him and has been thinking about him since. And if this guy, what’s-his-name? Karl?”

  
   ”Uuhh…” Jeremy cast a glance at the screen. ”Keith.”

  
   ”Keith. If this guy Keith now wrote a special request telling us the flowers are waiting for the lawnmowers? He totally wants to see Lance again!” Jeremy thought about this for a moment, eyes darting between Hunk and the screen. Hunk could see Jeremy’s doubt and started talking again quickly.

  
   ”Jeremy, _trust me_. And what’s the harm anyways? Let Lance deliver the pizza.” Hunk’s facial expression added at least four silent pleases to his last sentence and Jeremy gave in even before Hunk put on his puppy-dog face.

  
   ”’Aight. Fine. I’ll call Lance,” he said and turned back towards the screen and picked up his phone from beside the keyboard.

  
   ” _Yes_ ,” Hunk shouted and did a victory pose. ”High five.” He held up his hand for a second before remembering that he was actually talking to his boss and not just his best friend’s brother. ”High five, sir?”

  
   ”Get back to work,” Jeremy said without any edge behind his words. Maybe this could be an actual good idea. After all, he did want to see his brother happy.

 

* * *

  
  
_It’s gonna be fine_ , Lance told himself. _This is all in my head. It’s just a normal delivery. I’m gonna give him his pizza and apologise for making him uncomfortable the last time. That’s all._ His inner monologue turned into a pep talk which got louder and louder to the point where the John Cena theme was playing in Lance’s head.

  
_It’s gonna be fine. Be professional. Calm down_ , Lance told himself while jogging up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible, not exactly knowing why. He paused at the top of the stairs, took a few deep breaths and walked over to knock on the door. He had done this a thousand times and he had gotten pretty good at ignoring the fact that he’s a person with feelings.

When he knocks on a door he’s an employee, and employees get paid for doing their job and hiding their feelings. Stress is one thing, everyone gets stressed. But he’d never be rude or let his anxiety shine through when he has had one of those days. On really bad days he has pushed through the interaction and then cried in his car for a bit. It’s kind of bitter sweet, the whole delivery job. On bad mental days it has just seemed like a pain to interact with strangers, but afterwards, Lance has always felt better. And he’s gonna feel better after this too.

Probably. Hopefully.

Maybe?

 

  
   Lance heard the lock click and the door opened, revealing the boy who had been occupying his thoughts for the last couple of days. The polite smile he had prepared was only a memory and a happy, shy smile was its replacement.

  
   ”Hey,” Keith said after a moment of silence. Lance realised that he was supposed to talk first, say something about ”Hi here’s your pizza, what a lovely doormat you have and seriously? You eat pineapple on pizza?” The realisation made blood rush to his cheeks and a nervous laugh escaped his tense body.

  
   ”Hello there, dear customer,” he said with a small and exaggerated bow. ”I have arrived with your meal.” Keith looked surprised but smiled nonetheless. He was wearing black shorts and a white plain t-shirt, making the most simple outfit look fashionable. Lance handed over the pizza with another bow, his other hand behind his back. Lance had no idea what he was doing but, thank the spirits, he was saved by a soft creature that meowed and head butted his left foot.

  
   ”There she is!” Lance squatted down to scoop up the cat he was ready to give his heart and soul to. T _hank you for saving me from a devastating amount of awkwardness, oh you beautiful goddess,_ he told her mentally.

  
   ”Hi there, Strawberry! Aren’t you beautiful! Oh yes you are. How lovely to see you again! You are sparkling today,” he told her verbally. He stuffed his face into her shining fur and breathed in the familiar smell of cat.

  
   ”I- I brushed her yesterday.” Lance looked up to see Keith glancing at him through his lashes.

  
   ”You did a good job. Didn’t he, Strawberry, of course he did. Now you’re two pretty princesses,” he said and smiled towards Keith.

  
   ”Um… no.”

  
   ”Huh?” Confusion.

  
   ”I- uh, I prefer male specific pronouns, or terms, or titles or whatever.” Lance realized his mistake and while a voice in the back of his head was screaming ’YOU FUCKED UP RUN AND NEVER STOP RUNNING YOU FUCKED UP’ he didn’t let this faze him.

  
   ”Oh, sorry, my bad. Prince then?”

  
   ”Prince is fine, I guess.” He was really cute when he blushed. Oh lord, this was the second time Lance met this guy and he was already lost in his eyes.

  
   ”Uh, here’s the money for the pizza?” It sounded more like a question than a statement but Lance smiled nonetheless and switched the cat’s weight so he could hold her with one hand and accept the money with the other.

  
   ”Also do you want some coke?” Keith asked. Lance raised an eyebrow.

  
   ”The drink or the drug?” His joke dragged out a laugh from the nervous boy in front of him and his facial expression softened a bit, making him less tense.

  
   ”The drink, stupid. My brother left some here the other day but I don’t drink it myself. So you want some?”

  
   ”I’d love some,” Lance smiled.

  
   ”Eh, ’aight I’ll be right back,” Keith said and shuffled into the apartment towards the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight Lance buried his face into Strawberry’s fur again, screaming a silent _AAAaaaaahhh_ into the fluffiness, feeling his face getting hot again. He hoped he wasn’t blushing like an idiot.

Because an idiot, he was.

  
   Keith got back with a can of coke in his hand. ”You get this and I get my cat back?”

  
Lance looked at Strawberry like just noticing she was there.

  
   ”Oh, right, this isn’t mine.” He held Strawberry out towards Keith, who kneeled down as the cat jumped onto his shoulder and balanced with her paws partly on the back of Keith’s neck. It didn't look very comfortable.

  
   ”Thank’s, man,” Lance said, lifting up the can as if there could be any confusion around what he was talking about.

  
   ”No problem, Lance?”

  
   ”Ey, you remember my name.” Lance’s instincts took over and he shot Keith a finger gun with his free hand. He almost hid his face in his hands in embarrassment but stopped himself. He took a step back, sensing the conversation was definitely over now, but before Keith had reached for the door Lance spoke again.

  
   ”Hey, sorry for last time,” he said, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. ”I really hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable with my stupid flirting, I wanted to cheer you up and went a bit too far I guess. I’m not a total creep I swear. And I should stop talking now.” Lance wanted to turn around and just walk away before he embarrassed himself even more.

  
   ”No, that’s okay. I just assumed it was customary.” Keith shrugged.

  
   ”Oh. It’s not.” Silence.

  
   ”Oh.” Silence.

  
   ”Mrrao,” Strawberry said, sounding irritated.

  
   ”That’s a good point, Princess Strawberry,” Lance hurried himself to say. ”I’ll see you around, prince Keith.”

  
   ”See you around, Lance.” The door clicked behind Lance’s back and he hurried back to his car.

  
   ”Oh, my God,” he said to himself before he started the car. ”Oh my god,” he said to himself while making a turn onto the main road.

  
   ”Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god,” he continued to rant the whole way back to the pizzeria.

 

* * *

 

  
  
   Keith locked the door. He stood still for a full minute before putting his forehead against the door, just like the last time.

  
   ”What is happening?” he mumbled, mostly to himself but a small part of him hoped Strawberry would give him an explanation. Strawberry said nothing. She stayed on his shoulder for quite some time though and after a while, his back started to ache.

Note to self: Do not stand with your forehead against a door with a cat on your back.

Second note to self: Keith, what is going on?

Third note to self: The fuck should I know?

  
   Keith straightened himself slowly to give Straw time to jump off. Then he followed his normal procedure, getting the scissors and placing himself on the sofa with the pizza. He opened the box and found another message from Hunk. Keith wondered if this guy was actually named Hunk or if he was just called that because he was hot or something.

>   
>    _”That was a secret message, right? We’ll keep sending Lance your way until you tell us otherwise._  
>  _Lance knows nothing of this btw, I’m just his best friend, trying to make him happy._  
>  _Love, Hunk <3”_

  
   Wow. Pressure much. It was impressive though how Hunk had managed to fit all that text on the inside of the small box. Keith wondered for a second if the fumes from a black marker had poisoned his pizza or something. Then he shrugged and figured that he actually didn’t care. He was hungry.

He cut out a few slices before pulling out his phone. He wanted to process all of this but didn’t want to do it alone and his brother was probably the most reasonable choice. He scrolled through his contacts but for some reason, he couldn’t find Shiro. Then he noticed Shiro wasn’t the only one he couldn’t find. He inspected his contacts more closely. And yep. Shiro’s boyfriend had changed all the names again. It was his personal tradition and Keith didn’t really mind. It was the kind of teasing that just made him feel loved.

  
   He found Shiro’s number under the name _Brothership_ and sent two quick texts after another.  
  


 

To: Brothership  
   **Did Matt change all my contacts again?**  
  
   Also I’m eating pizza  
  


 

Half a minute later he had an incoming call.

  
   ”Hello.”

  
   ”DID YOU SEE HIM AGAIN?!” Keith instinctively held the phone away from his ear. Naturally, it wasn't Shiro who’d answered.

  
   ”Matt, stop screaming. Where’s Shiro?”

  
   ”Not important. In the shower. Never mind. Tell me everything.”

  
   ”I’ll wait ’til Shiro’s done so I don’t have to tell it twice,” Keith said and took another bite of the pizza while putting the phone on speaker so he didn’t have to hold it to his face.

  
   ”Wait you don’t have to, wait a sec,” Matt said and some muffled sound came from the speakers that indicated movement. A door opening. Water running.

  
   ”Hey, babe,” Keith heard Matt say.

  
   ”Oh hey, I thought you didn’t want to join me,” Shiro said in a voice that was not so little suggestive.

  
   ”NO NO NO, UGH, GROSS, OH MY GOD NO,” Keith shouted before Matt even had the time to open his mouth probably.

  
   ”Keith!?”

  
   ”Oh yeah, Keith’s on the phone.”

  
   ”I’m gonna hang up now,” Keith said, face red and spine curved out of cringe.

  
   ”Nooo, you can’t! Shiro, he met him again,” Matt shouted as if that would get Keith to stay longer.

  
   ”Who? The cute pizza boy?” Shiro asked, water now turned off.

  
   ”Yes!”

  
   ”Keith, you’re not going anywhere,” Keith heard Shiro say.

  
   ”You heard the man,” Matt said. ”Now spill.” Keith sighed heavily. These kinds of phone calls weren’t at all unusual. Shiro was good at many things, but not at remembering his phone, so naturally, when Matt got into his life he did the remembering for him. Matt’s younger sibling often joked about it and said that they should just share one phone since Matt carried both of them on him most of the time. ”We’re not always together you know,” Matt just said and moved closer to his boyfriend.

  
   ”Okay so I told you about the message I got in the last pizza box, right?” Keith continued telling his story. To go over everything systematically with another person (another person and his boyfriend in this case) might help him understand what was actually going on.

  
   ”Yes,” Matt and Shiro said in unison which made Keith smile.

  
   ”And that I wrote Hunk’s secret message on their review wall?”

  
   ”Yes,” they said in unison again.

  
   ”So I ordered pizza again today,” he began before he was interrupted.

  
   ”Well obviously get to the point,” Matt said.

  
   ”He can’t get to the point if you are interrupting him, idiot,” Shiro said.

  
   ”Whatever, continue.”

  
   ”So I ordered pizza, and wrote a message similar to the secret one and it worked. So, yeah, Lance was here.”

  
   ”OH MY GOD,” Matt shouted.

  
   ”Shut up,” Shiro said and Matt giggled.

  
   ”You know you love me.”

  
   ”You bet I do.”

Keith heard noises that might be kissing noises.

  
   ”Ew, oh my god, stop.”

  
   ”Sorry,” Shiro said. The kissing noises did not stop though. ”Matt stop it.”

  
   ”Sorry,” Matt whined.

  
   ”Keith, continue,” Shiro said.

  
   ”Shiro you might need to put some clothes on or something,” Keith said.

  
   ”Please don’t,” he then heard Matt mumble.

  
   ”I’m gonna hang up,” Keith said, which brought Matt back to reality.

  
   ”I’ll behave,” Matt said. ”Please continue.” Keith heard Shiro chuckle.

  
   ”So I ordered the pizza and they sent Lance. This Hunk dude wrote another message inside of my pizza box. Wait a second.” Keith leant forward so he could open the box and read aloud.

”’That was a secret message, right, we’ll keep sending Lance your way until you tell us otherwise. Lance knows nothing of this btw, I’m just his best friend, trying to make him happy. Love, Hunk <3.’ And that’s like no pressure at all right? But according to Hunk-dude Lance doesn’t know he’s writing me messages.”

  
   Keith heard Matt take a breath like he wanted to say something but heard Shiro mumble ”No, let him finish first.”

  
   ”Anyhow, Lance turned up here and I thought that, I don’t know, he’d be the same, call me beautiful and shit, like a sales tactic. I mean if he’s their most charming guy they’ve gotta use him a lot, right? I’m not special.” At those words, Shiro began to protest but was silenced by his boyfriend.

  
   ”So he came here,” Keith continued. ”And he like bowed to me when he handed me the pizza and then Strawberry came and saved me from saying anything mortifying. Lance noticed I’d brushed Straw’s fur and complimented her. Or me, I guess. And then he called us princesses, and I corrected him without even thinking, he must have thought I was so weird.”

  
   ”No, he didn’t,” Shiro said, successful with his interruption this time. ”If you don’t want to be called something that has anything to do with female forms he has to respect that, and if he doesn’t he doesn’t deserve you.”

  
   ”Amen,” Matt added.

  
   ”Yeah but he doesn’t know I’m trans, so he must have thought I was weird. But he changed it to prince anyways, he didn’t ask why or anything. And then I offered him some coke and we switched so he got pop and I got my cat back and before he left he apologised for, you know, how he was the last time.”

  
   ”You are avoiding the correct term here,” Matt said. ”He flirted with you. He legitimately flirted with your stupid ass, Keith.” The realisation hit Keith a bit hard and he felt his body tingle and his face go hot.

  
   ”Okay so he apologised for, er, flirting with me and for making me uncomfortable he said. And I said what I was thinking, that that was what he was meant to do, that it was customary, and then he said that it wasn’t.” The gasp Matt made was so dramatic Keith would normally have laughed at it, but he didn't feel like laughing. ”And then it got super awkward until Strawberry meowed and saved us and then he, he called mw pwsh,” Keith spoke the last words into a pillow which was covering his ever so blushing face.

  
   ”He what? He called you what? Keith where’d you go what did he call you?”

  
   ”Yeah, Keith, what did he say?” Shiro pressed on along with his boy. Keith repeated it but still face deep in the pillow so it wouldn’t be audible.

  
   ”Speak up, dude,” Matt said. ”Come on.”

  
   ”HE CALLED ME PRINCE KEITH,” Keith shouted way too loudly. These feelings, whatever these feelings were, had been building up inside of his stomach ever since he’d opened the door for the beautiful tall young man today, and all of those feelings just burst out into a scream.

  
   Silence from the other end.

  
   ”Wow,” Shiro whispered. ”Keith, you’ve broken Matt, he’s speechless.” He wasn’t speechless for long though.

  
   ”He called you PRINCE?! I can’t take this. We have got to find this boy so you can marry him.”

  
   ”Matt!” Keith exclaimed. ”I’m still kinda sure this is just a sales tactic though. I mean, every customer my age must be all over him.” Keith sighed. To tell Matt and Shiro what’d happened didn’t make this feel any more logical than it had before. If anything, it made him even more confused. ”I mean it’s not as if I can like him. We’ve met twice and I’m just flattered by his, um, flirting. It’s just me who’s inexperienced or something like that.”

  
   ”Keith,” Shiro said in his now-listen-here-I’m-gonna-tell-you-something-very-important-right-now. ”Don’t put yourself down like that. Lance apologised to you, that must mean something. He didn't just flirt to lead you on or to buy more pizza and he was genuinely worried he was creeping you out. And besides, if what his friend says is true it means that it made Lance happy to meet you and that he was willing to do it again today. No matter if this turns out to be nothing or not, you can’t let your self-doubt crush you. Try to meet him again, see what happens, and honestly, just talk to him. And if it doesn't work out you don’t have to see him again, you don’t have any common grounds as it is. And besides, you’re good looking. You’re a cute guy. You are desirable, Keith. You are worthy of being desired and you deserve it.”

  
   Shiro-monologue over.

  
   ”Preach,” Matt said. ”Keith I swear, if you were a few years older and I wasn’t head over heels for Takashi here, you would have been desirable number one for me.” That made Keith laugh.

  
   ”Thank’s you guys,” Keith said. Was he going to cry? No, he wasn’t, but somewhere between starting to talk about Lance and hearing Shiro’s monologue he had become teary eyed out of emotions. Well that was embarrassing.

  
   ”I love you.”

  
   ”We love you too, Keith,” Shiro said in a soft voice.

  
   ”You bet we do,” Matt agreed. ”Now you’ve gotta excuse me, I’m gonna go join my boyfriend in the shower.”

  
   ”Say no more, I’m gone,” Keith said laughing. He hung up and suddenly it was way too quiet around him. He thought about Shiro, who he loved dearly, and Matt, who’d become like a second brother to him over the last few years. Then he involuntarily thought about the two of them in the shower and he stopped himself before he could cringe himself out of his own skin. Then a dangerous thought popped into his head, a thought of him and one certain warm skinned boy. He groaned loudly and buried his face in a pillow again. What was happening to him?

 

* * *

 

 

   ”You think he’ll be okay?” Matt asked Shiro after he’d taken off his clothes and put his glasses on the sink.

  
   ”He will be,” Shiro said with a crinkle between his eyebrows that showed the worry he was still feeling underneath the confidence and stability he’d shown his brother just moments ago.

   ”Unless this Lance guy’s intentions aren’t pure or serious. It has been so unthinkable for Keith that a total stranger would find any interest in him, and if this would be fake he’d expect it even less in the future.”

Matt pressed a kiss on Shiro’s lower jaw since he couldn’t reach any higher. Then he put his hand on the back of Shiro’s neck and brought his boyfriend’s face down so he could kiss the frown between his eyebrows.

  
   ”We’ll just have to check this guy out,” Matt said like it was the simplest thing in the world. ”Go to his workplace, scout him out, find out where he lives and who he loves, that sort of stuff.”

This made Shiro’s face soften and he let out a laugh.

  
   ”Sounds good.”

  
   ”And besides, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Keith talk this much like, ever. The only time he’s gotten close was when he was angry about that one transphobic woman, you remember?”

  
   ”Unfortunately, I do. But you’re right. If it’s something that has gotten Keith to talk this much, it must be something good, right?”

  
   ”Totally,” Matt said. ”This will work out fine you know.” He brushed his thumb over Shiro’s lips. ”So are we gonna finish what we started earlier or what?”

  
   ”You mean when you wouldn’t stop kissing me?”

  
   ”Mhm…”

  
   ”Of course.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo what are your opinions on Matt and Shiro?
> 
> I keep thinking that this was meant to be a short fic but dangit I got invested in the story again and I didn't want to rush anything and blabla this and blabla that. Whoopsies? 
> 
> Criticise me, is the story too watered down? With like me explaining relationships and situations and thoughts in depth and such. Please tell me what you think. (pleasepleaseplspleapsle)(I love all the feedback I get)
> 
>  
> 
> Anyhow, going off to London tomorrow! It's "19 years later", you know the epilogue of Harry Potter when he drops off his kids at the station. I'm in a Harry Potter club/association/whatever and we were like yeah, why not. So if anyone else is gonna be at King's Cross at 11 on Friday, shout Klance and see if I answer (I will I promise).
> 
>  
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!


	4. Order checked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I am so sorry I made you wait so long for another chapter ;;;;;;; writer's block hit and then I didn't wanna upload until I had more but here is a short chapter anyways to assure you that I'm still writing. I'm in the midst of nanowrimo atm so what the future holds? we'll see.)

   ”Hey,” Hunk said as he sat down at the table in the library. ”Sorry I’m late, Lance, you know my roomie, needed breakfast in bed today.”

  
   ”No problem, I’ve been doing stuff.”

  
   When Hunk and Pidge first met they’d clicked instantly. They shared the same interests and got along really well despite the age difference of three years. Hunk loved Lance like a brother, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone who actually understood what he was talking about.

They met up frequently and Hunk usually helped Pidge with the university courses they were taking along with their usual high school courses.

  
   ”Oh, yeah, my brother’s coming by to pick up some things mum got him.”

  
   ”Cool,” Hunk answered and put his snack box between them. Pidge’s hand went instantly to the grapes and they took a branch and started to stuff the berries in their mouth one by one without even looking up from the screen.

Some might take this as odd or rude, but Hunk was used to it, and honestly, it was nice to be with a more quiet person for a change. Like he said, he loved Lance like a brother, but not even Hunk has limitless energy.

  
   ”How’s work been?” Pidge asked with their mouth full and took their eyes of the screen for a moment.

  
   ”Oh it’s been great. I can almost throw up pizza dough in the air without messing things up, but it’s been really hard. Mrs. Napolello is a great tutor, I’m really lucky.”

  
   ”That’s great,” Pidge tried to say, but it sounded more like ’dad’s gate’ due to the grapes. After that they looked over Pidge’s course and the subjects covered on the next exam.

Then Pidge studied hard for twenty-three solid minutes, while Hunk casually read comics online, before Pidge lost focus and started to build towers with Hunk’s pencils with their chin propped up on their other hand.

  
   ”What’s up Kates?” a voice suddenly said behind them and a young man that looked very similar to Pidge hugged his younger sibling from behind and put his chin on top of their head.  

   ”Hey, Matt,” Pidge answered.

  
   ”I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times but you two look so alike,” Hunk said grinning. ”Grapes?” He gesticulated towards his snack box and Matt took a branch and started putting the grapes in his mouth just like Pidge had earlier.

  
   ”At least I don’t wear fake glasses,” Matt snickered with his mouth full and ruffled Pidge’s hair.

  
   ”Ugh, get off,” they said, but they had a smile on their face. ”Just take your stuff and go, I’m studying.”

  
   ”Doesn’t look like it,” Matt said and took the paper bag Pidge had picked up from the floor for him. He looked in it.

  
   ”Is it the mugs mum promised me?”

  
   ”Yepp. She said they were for Shiro though, not for you.”

  
   ”Well that won’t stop me from treating them like they’re mine. Takashi’s gonna love them,” Matt said and smiled down towards the presumed mugs in the paper bag. ”Well I’m gonna go home, promised I’d vacuum yesterday so I better do it so the boyfriend is happy with me. I’m Matt by the way,” he added and held out his hand towards Hunk.

  
   ”I’m Hunk, nice to meet you.”

  
   ”You too, thank’s for the grapes.” Matt waved and Hunk waved back with a big genuine smile as the older boy walked away with a spring in his steps.

  
   ”Your brother is cute,” Hunk said a moment after Matt had disappeared from their view. Pidge snorted.

  
   ”Yeah, right. Too bad he’s taken.”

  
   ”I just said he was cute, not that I wanted to date him,” Hunk said reassuringly. ”Bet Lance would though. But on the other hand he has another boy in mind right now I think.” Pidge raised an eyebrow.

  
   ”Tell me everything,” they said. So Hunk did.

 

* * *

  
  
   ”Things I know about Keith,” Lance said out loud slowly while he wrote it on top of the paper.

  
   ”Okay, so the list is actually happening?” Hunk said, hiding his huge smile by stuffing more pasta in his mouth.

  
   ”The list is so happening, Hunk. You gotta help me here,” Lance said and stared at the otherwise blank paper whilst tapping the pen against the table.

  
   ”I don’t know Keith, what can I help you with?”

  
   ”You probably remember things I’ve told you about and later forgotten,” Lance said.

  
   Hunk thought about that for a moment. ”Yeah, you’re probably right.” More pasta. Hunk had let Lance make dinner tonight, simply because Lance really wanted to. He’d taken an easy route and just cooked up some pasta, added beans and fresh vegetables, but with a culinary upbringing like Lance’s, something as simple as pasta couldn’t go wrong.

Now they were seated at the kitchen table with their respective plates and Lance was leaning over his blank list.

  
   ”Let’s start easy,” Hunk said. ”You know where he lives.”

  
   Lance gave him a glare. ”I know where he lives, yes, I should absolutely add that on top of the list, that isn’t creepy at all.”

  
   ”Yeah, you’re right.”

  
   ”I know he has a cat who is a princess who he brushes at least semi-regularly.”

  
   ”We should brush our babies semi-regularly too,” Hunk said and cast a glance over Lance’s shoulder to see if there were any cats over at their food bowl. No kitty in sight.

  
   ”That is a whole other discussion, Hunk.” Lance was wholeheartedly dedicated to the task that laid before him.

  
   ”He likes pineapple pizza,” Hunk said, pointing at Lance with his fork.

  
   ”Yes. Pineapple- pizza-,” Lance said the words slowly and wrote them down neatly while taking a bite of food with his other hand. Multitasker that boy.

  
   ”His work is bad on some days, right? That’s why he needed cheering up when you met the first time?”

  
   Lance hid his face in his arms. ”Don’t remind me.”

  
   ”You said wanted my help.”

  
   ”And I do, I just hoped not to be reminded of my humiliation tonight.” Hunk sighed.

  
   ”Lance, buddy, we’re talking about Keith, your crush, who’ve you’ve met twice and according to you, you humiliated yourself a bit both times. It’s impossible to talk about this without bringing that up.”

  
   ”Okay, you’re right,” Lance answered hesitantly. ”I’m sorry.”

  
   ”No don’t apologize, you don’t have anything to be sorry about. Just eat your dinner and let’s keep on writing this list.”

  
   ”Right.” Lance took another bite of his pasta. ”He has a brother, who drinks coke. Keith doesn’t drink coke. He offered me some coke, which is a bit weird you know? Why not just let it be there for the next time his brother comes over? Why offer it to me?”

  
   Hunk rolled his eyes. ”Because he likes you, maybe?” This statement made Lance blush somewhat intensively. Hunk was just surprised Lance hadn’t imploded yet.

  
   ”No he doesn’t stop it,” Lance said in one, fast sentence, hiding his face in his arms again, but with a smile on his face this time. ”Uuuuuuunnnnnggh”

  
   Hunk chuckled silently so Lance wouldn’t hear.

  
   ”Just write that on your list,” he said and stabbed the last of his beans with his fork and put them in his mouth.

  
   ”Fine. Offered- me- coke.”

  
   ”Also he didn’t want to be called princess,” Hunk added.

  
   ”Prefers male-specific titles.”

  
   ”Great, now let’s see what you’ve got.”

  
Lance lifted his glass to drink some water before clearing his throat and reading the list.

  
   ”Things I know about Keith.

  * Has princesscat named Strawberry  
  

  * Grooms said princesscat at least semi-regularly  
  

  * Eats pineapple on his pizza  
  

  * Work is bad sometimes  
  

  * Has brother who drinks coke  
  

  * Does not drink coke  
  

  * Offered coke to Lance  
  

  * Remembered said Lance’s name  
  

  * Prefers male specific-pronouns and other words that comes with  
  

  * Is a prince probably  
  

  * Is cute.”



  
   ”See, we know a whole lot,” Hunk said.

  
   ”Yeah,” Lance sighed. ”We do.” And he hid his face in his arms again, silently squealing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is so gone
> 
> Also please look forward to the next chapter! I don't have a lot yet, but I'm really proud of what I do have, so yeah it's gonna be great I think <3
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!


	5. Order fulfilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does the future hold for our favorite boys??  
> Who am I kidding they're gonna meet again (not in this chapter tho i'm sorry not sorry i like to build) and somewhere, in a dark alley, an alliance is formed...
> 
> Plus side: More Hunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I can't believe i haven't updated in FOUR MONTHS goddammit. Well actually I can believe it because it says it right there. anyhow, like i promised, I have NOT abandoned this fic and i won't. It will take time bc life is a bitch but I will finish this story because i love it.

   Hunk was looking through the the glass that was separating the kitchen from the restaurant area. As a child, his favourite restaurants had been the ones where you could see the chefs work. His parents had always had to pry him away from the window so he could eat his food and leave the staff alone. There were occasionally children watching him work and he loved it. Even if he was in a hurry he always put on a show, dancing and making faces as he put on the ingredients.

  
   Laura Napolello, his mentor, who actually was Italian, was a big woman in her mid-fifties. She had one of the loudest laughs he’d ever heard and one time he had jumped so suddenly he startled Lance so much he had dropped his phone (Lance still teased him about it, but since the phone didn't break there was no real harm done).

   When first had met Mrs Napolello he’d been so nervous he’d accidentally called her Mrs Napoleon, which he guessed would make him lose his job on the spot, but she just laughed her loud laugh and said that ”While many mispronounce my name, no one has done it this funny,” and patted Hunk on the back. She was the kind of person Hunk wanted to be when he got her age. She was happily married, had two kids and twin grandchildren on the way. The dream, according to Hunk. He and Lance had made a pact, a promise. If they were both single and unhappy with that arrangement at thirty-seven they’d marry each other and adopt a few children. Hunk wanted at least two, maybe three. Lance wanted like seven. At least they had a few years to discuss it.

  
   Hunk was watching through his window as a family of four were deciding what to eat. The two children were obviously too young to be reading properly but they were looking and pointing at the menu they were sharing, imitating their parents. Hunk sighed and was just about to go back to his work when he saw something move in the corner of his eye in the other end of the restaurant. He squinted in hope of seeing what it was but couldn't until it moved again. Hunk tilted his head and wondered if he was really being what he thought he was seeing. Could it really be…? To confirm his wild theory he quickly snuck out of the kitchen and sneaked through the corridor to get out to the dining area. He almost didn't believe his own eyes.

  
   Behind one of the large plastic plants stood a tall, thin figure, all dressed in dark camo-patterned clothes stood Pidge? No wait, not Pidge, the figure was too tall. It must be Pidge’s brother Matt… Who even had black stripes on his cheeks to complete the outfit. Hunk thought for a moment if he should just turn around and go hide in the kitchen since he didn’t know Matt at all, but then his curiosity won and he went over to the crouching figure, but not before snapping a quick picture for later.

  
   Hunk wasn’t sure if Matt seriously believed that he was invisible or not, anyhow he certainly got some weird looks from some of the customers in the restaurant.

  
   ”Hey, Matt… What are you doing?” Hunk asked when he’d crept up right behind Pidge’s semi-invisible brother. Matt was clearly not ready to be ambushed and jumped while squeaking ”Don’t tell Shiro!”. He turned around with a hand clutched over his racing heart and scanned Hunk from top to toe with his gaze.

  
   ”Uh,” he said. ”Hi, Hank? No, wait. Not, Hank. Hunk. I remember because I thought about it for a while and you’re definitely a Hunk and not a Hank.”

  
   Hunk had no idea what to say to that.

  
   ”Eh, yeah, sure, but, what are you doing?” he said instead. Matt seemed hesitant to reveal his mission but then also seemed to remember what he was wearing and gave in.

  
   ”Okay so this stays between us, alright?” he said with a straight face and serious tone. ”So my boyfriend’s brother-”

  
   Hunk sensed that this was going to be good and interrupted Matt.

  
   ”I’m gonna stop you right there. I think it’d be best if we took this discussion over a cup of tea.”

  
  
   As luck would have it Mrs Napolello was at work today and when Hunk presented her to his friend Matt who looked like he was straight out of an army game she gave the newcomer a pat on the back and gave Hunk permission to bring his friend into the kitchen. As long as his working performance didn't change it didn’t matter much. Lance usually hung out there when he wasn’t doing deliveries and Mrs Napolello’s wife and children with partners often came by to keep her company. Hunk could understand why Matt looked intimidated though, being startled by her laugh and with Hunk calling her Mrs Napoleon and all.

  
   Nonetheless, he appreciated the chai Hunk had made them and had seated himself at a barstool in a corner of the kitchen to not be in the way.

  
   ”Now, spill,” Hunk said when he’d put his last made pizza in the oven. His face was open and inviting but his eyes had no mercy. Matt swallowed hard.

   ”Okay, firstly,” Matt said, putting a finger in the air, ”If Shiro finds out, he’ll kill me.” Hunk tilted his head in confusion.

  
   ”And Shiro is…?”

  
   ”Oh, right. He’s my boyfriend.”

  
   ”Okay so Shiro’s the boyfriend, please continue.”

  
   ”Yeah, don’t tell Shiro. The short version is I’m here to spy on someone,” Matt said simply and sipped on his chai. Hunk waited for Matt to continue. He didn’t.

  
   ”The long version please?”

  
   ”Oh,” Matt said. ”Well. My boyfriend’s brother, whom I love dearly, I really do, but he’s a bit lonely, you know? Not a guy who makes a lot of friends in his spare time you know. So, well, apparently he has gotten a connection with this person that I wanted to check out because we worry sometimes. Me and Shiro that is.”

Matt had a special way to explain things. He used his hands a lot more than he probably needed and you could see that he had a lot of feeling behind his words. He really cared for his boyfriend’s brother. And Hunk had gotten a feeling in his gut.

  
   ”And that person is here?” Hunk asked.

  
   ”Presumably.”

  
   ”Tell me the details,” Hunk demanded, arms now crossed over his chest. ”Who knows? I might be able to help.”

  
   ”Alright,” Matt said after a moment of deliberation. ”You seem like a nice kid. If my sister, aish, sibling, trust you, I do too.” Hunk’s smile grew when he heard the words of praise.

  
   ”So my bro-in-law, kind off, met this pizza delivery guy who was super nice and good looking, I haven’t seen him, so I don’t know. But he seemed like a good person so I figured I should maybe talk to him so I could form my own opinion. Wouldn’t want my bf’s little bro to get I trouble over some douchebag.”

  
   While Matt was talking Hunk’s gut feeling had only grown stronger and he had barely been able to wait for Matt to stop talking so he could vent his thoughts.

  
   ”Please, please, please tell me you are looking for Lance and that your boyfriend’s brother is Keith.” His hands were clasped together as in prayer and his knees were bent as if he was about to kneel on the floor. Matt’s mouth fell wide open.

  
   ”How could you possibly know that?”

  
   ”Because Lance is my best friend who hasn't stopped talking about the cute boy he delivered pizza to.”

  
   Matt’s reaction was priceless. His eyes widened and his expression went from shocked to completely overjoyed. He quickly but carefully but his teacup aside and hopped off the stool to join Hunk in the middle of the kitchen and before they knew it they were both giggling and spinning around with their fingers latched together.

  
   ”This is amazing,” Matt shrieked. ”We have to set them up. I’ll add you on facebook. No, wait, then they’ll see we’re friends. I’ll give you my number.”

  
   ”Sounds good!” Hunk answered and let go of one of Matt’s hands and pulled out his phone. ”We have to come up with a really great plan though because I’m kinda terrible at keeping secrets.”

  
   Matt stopped tapping the screen and looked up at Hunk with a deadly serious face.

  
   ”We’re in this together now. You and I may hold the key to two peoples destinies. If we fail it’s because two people weren’t meant to be, not because one of us broke under the pressure. Understood?”

  
   ”Sir, yes sir!” Hunk shouted with a straight back and hand raised in a salute. And at this moment Frida walked past the kitchen, seeing Hunk saluting some cute guy all dressed in camo-clothes.

  
   ”Uh, hi? What’s going on, I heard screaming earlier?” she asked, startling Hunk in the process.

  
   ”Oh, hi Frida. This is Matt. Matt, this is Frida, my coworker.” They shook hands. ”Frida you know that super cute guy Keith you delivered pizza to, that Lance has delivered to a couple of times?”

  
   ”Of course I do,” Frida answered.

  
   ”He’s super gay by the way,” Matt interrupted before Hunk could continue.

  
   Frida tilted her head. ”Oh. How about you then,” she said half-jokingly to Matt who smiled.

  
   ”I’m taking that as a compliment and I’m hella gay for my super hot boyfriend.”

  
   ”Who,” Hunk broke in, ”happens to be this Keith guy’s older brother.” This brought them back on track.

  
   ”Yes,” Matt said, putting his finger in the air. ”And Keith has this crush on your boy Lance.”

  
   ”And Lance might be a teensy teeny tiny bit in love with Keith.”

  
   ”And I knew where this Lance boy worked so I came to check him out so he wasn’t a creep. Just in case you know.”

  
   ”Understandable,” Frida nodded. ”Not that Lance is a creep, just understandable that you want to check. But count me in if you need me.”  
And thus the operation was set in motion.  
  


* * *

  
To: Hunk

From: Steve

    He hasn't ordered Pizza bc he doesn't want to force the interaction

 

To: Steve

From: Hunk

    He has to force the interaction, L can’t take initiative

 

To: Hunk

From: Steve

    You know what, I’ll do it. To surprise K. Force interaction.

  
  
To: Steve

From: Hunk

    You sure? Shouldn’t it b on Ks terms?

 

To: Hunk

From: Steve

    TOO LATE    *attached picture of a screenshot of a pizza order*

 

To: Steve

From: Hunk

    *attached picture of Hunk with his head in his hand like ”oh dear, what have we started”*

 

* * *

 

 

   Lance was in the midst of an episode of Bee and Puppycat when his phone rang. He was a bit surprised when he saw that it was his coworker, Frida who called. He picked up.

  
   ”Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?” It was his day off and he was pretty sure Frida was just calling to ask if he could fill in for her or something, but he couldn’t avoid being a little worried. That’s just how anxiety works.

  
   ”Yeah, yeah it’s fine,” Frida said. ”It’s just…” She hesitated. ”Could you do me a favour? I know it’s out of the blue but I kinda have a date like right after my shift ends but I just got a last minute delivery order and I want at least ten minutes to get ready for the date and I know it’s your day off but…”

  
   ”Say no more,” Lance said. He was already standing up and heading towards the door.

  
   ”Oh-eM-Gee Lance, you’re the best! Could we meet around the corner from work? I’ll pick up the delivery and hand it to you there so Jeremy doesn't notice anything.”

  
   ”I’m already out of my apartment, see you in fifteen!”

 

  
   ”Lance, you are a saint and I will treat you to coffee and you’ll get your share of my pay and-”

 

   ”Frida!” Lance said loudly, waving his hands around. ”Just go and get ready, I’m doing this as a favour. For love.” Frida handed a bag with two or three pizza boxes inside.

 

   ”I can never thank you enough, I love you so much-”

 

   ”Get outta here! Go get your boy! Or girl? Boy,” Lance decided after following the change of Frida’s facial expressions in time with his words.

 

   Then he playfully made Frida turn around and get into her car. He got into the driver seat of his own and put the bag in the front seat. He waved at Frida who could only be described as gleeful, chuckling a bit to himself. Frida was a bit much sometimes but she was pure at heart and really knew how to enjoy life. Also that it was worth to bend the rules sometimes.

 

   Lance started the car and put his phone ready to tap in the address he was going to before looking in the bag for the note with the order information. He almost choked on his own spit. He recognised the address as Keith’s. 

 

* * *

  
  
To: Hunk

From: Frida

    He bought it!  
  


*Incoming call from: Lance*

Hunk ignored the phone until it stopped ringing.

  
To: Frida

From: Hunk

    Great!

  
To: Steve

From: Hunk

    He’s on hi-    *Incoming call from: Lance*

 

Hunk ignored the call again, feeling a sting of guilt in the process.

  
To: Steve

From: Hunk

    -s way. Sorry he called and I hit send.

  
To: Hunk

From: Steve

    Don’t answer in case you’re worried you’re gonna blow it

  
To: Hunk

From: Steve

    Also great work! We’ve got this!!!!!

  
To: Hunk

From: Steve

    THIS IS AMAZING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a very long chapter and not very satisfying but I saw a chance for a good cliffhanger and I took it.
> 
> I realized as I re-read my fic that Hunk has become the voice of reason, basically being there to say wise things to calm Lance down and keep him on the right side of self-loathing, which, obviously, is the self-loving side. This relationship goes both ways and they are both there for each other at all times.
> 
> So I have the next chapter ready, if anyone still reads this fanfic that is hehe, and it'll probably be uploaded in a couple of days... or four months ;)
> 
>  
> 
> uuuh also voltron season 5 in like THREE DAYS WHAT
> 
>  
> 
> lastly: I love writing, I really do. Thank you for being here to read my stuff, I appreciate it SO much, I really do. (This sounds rather terrible but you get what I mean. Just thank you. and stuff)
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!


	6. Delivery prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Hunk's and Matt's teamwork Lance is once again outside of Keith's door, but he would've never been guessing what was waiting on the other side...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehehehehehehe

   Why was Lance more nervous now than when he’d delivered to Keith before? Probably because he really, really hadn’t been expecting it today. He tried to stay calm while driving and glanced down at his clothes. Did he look okay? He had obviously been wearing his work clothes otherwise, which means it isn’t his fault if they don’t suit him. No-one can look good in standardised work clothes. Okay, maybe he looked kinda good in them but that didn’t matter anyway because now he was wearing his own clothes. And they were home clothes, the kind you only wore at home when you didn't have to go out. Lance groaned loudly. He wished he had worn better home clothes.  
  
   He did get butterflies in his stomach though when he realised that he recognised most of the way to Keith’s address now when he got into the area. Just one or two more deliveries and he’d be able to find his way there without the GPS.  
  
   He got out of the car with sheer willpower. The smell of the newly baked pizza reminded him that the longer he wanted the colder the pizzas would get and nobody want’s cold pizza delivered to them. So Lance took the bag, closed his car door, closed his eyes and took a breath. Then he locked the car and got ready to climb the stairs.  
  
   Just like the times before he tried to make as little noise as possible in the stairwell and walked slowly so he wouldn’t have to catch his breath. Just as he knocked on the door he realised that he hadn't figured out what to say. He’d been way too nervous about the fact that he was going to see Keith to have any time to be nervous about what he was going to say. And now he was worried about his clothes again! This was a disaster. Abort mission. ABORT MI-  
  
   The door opened. Lance got ready to greet and bow like he, awkwardly, did last time but stopped himself when he saw that it wasn’t Keith who had opened the door. It was someone taller, in black sweatpants and, gulp, only wearing a towel around their neck. Which, inevitably, meant that the person who’d opened the door was shirtless.  
  
  
   ”Uh, pizza delivery?” Lance said weakly and died on the inside because this was so embarrassing and holy shit he looked at the man’s face and he was gorgeous.  
  
  
   ”Are you sure?” the man said with a puzzled face. ”We haven't ordered anything.”  
  
  
   Lance’s breath got caught in his throat, again. Had he gotten the wrong door? No, he was pretty sure it was the right one. He opened the bag and picked up the order specifics. It was Keith’s address, and the same apartment number as it had been before, he was sure of it. A soft meow was heard from below and Lance could have cried with relief.  
  
  
   ”Strawberry! Princess! Hello there. Hi girl. You are looking beautiful today.” Lance crouched down to pet the cat who seemed to have really good timing like, always. Bless this kitty.  
  
  
   ”Wait a minute,” the irritatingly shirtless guy said. ”Are you Lance by any chance?”  
  
   Lance stood up before looking at the man’s face, it wasn't exactly appropriate to stare at his face from a kneeling position, Lance thought.  
  
   ”Uh, yeah?”  
  
   The guy chuckled.  
  
   ”I think I’ve figured out what’s going on. Come in!”  
  
  
   ”Um, you sure?”  
  
  
   ”Of course, come on in,” he said and stepped aside so Lance could stiffly walk into the apartment. Thank the heavens that Strawberry was right behind him, begging for more petting.  
  
  
   ”I’ll take these off your hand,” the guy said and took the bag with the pizza boxes. ”Sit,” he demanded and pointed at the sofa. After pulling off his shoes Lance obliged and placed himself on the sofa, not exactly sure of what was going on. Then his mind caught up with him. Who was this guy? Lance stole a glance or two at the older one’s chest and man, he was ripped. Like. R-i-p-p-e-d. Though Lance wasn't the type of guy who was very into super muscular guys, since he himself was more like a popsicle stick, he had to admit that this particular set of abs and well-shaped muscles were top notch. And with that face? This was an attractive man that anyone would be lucky to have.  
  
  
   _”Wait a minute,_ ” Lance’s mind screamed suddenly. ” _Is this… is this Keith’s boyfriend?” ”It is isn’t it.” ”Everything has been for_ nought _.” ”Everything is pointless.” ”Please kill me now._ ” That was the only reasonable explanation, right? Why would this dude otherwise be so comfortable around this house, inviting Lance in like nothing? Lance’s heart sank. Strawberry had jumped up in Lance’s lap but Lance barely noticed her.  
  
  
  
To: Mattiehoneybaby     (Matt’s own choice. NOT Shiro’s.)  
  
From: Shiro  
  
    Matthew.  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    Yes, honey?  
  
  
  
To: Mattiehoneybaby  
  
From: Shiro  
  
    Do you happen to know why we just got a random pizza delivery from a boy named Lance?  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    …Maybe?  
  
  
  
To: Mattiehoneybaby  
  
From: Shiro  
  
    I hate you  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    Is he cute?  
  
  
  
To: Mattiehoneybaby  
  
From: Shiro  
  
    …  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    Is he cuter than me?  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    Shiro? Hello??  
  
  
  
To: Takashi mY BOYFRIEND  
  
From: Matt  
  
    IS HE CUTER THAN ME???  


  
  
   Shiro sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. Of course this was Matt’s doing. He turned around to see his houseguest sitting on the sofa with a look of terror on his face. Oh no.  
  
  
   ”So,” Shiro said and the boy jumped a little. ”I figured out where the pizzas came from. My boyfriend ordered them.”  
  
  
   ”Oh,” Lance said. He seemed to sink even lower into the cushions and Shiro realised his mistake.  
  
  
   ”Matt. My boyfriend Matt. I’m Shiro, Keith’s brother.”

  
  It was like life had returned to Lance. He straightened his back and relief washed over his face.  


   ”Oh. Right. Yes of course. Hello, nice to meet you.” He held out his hand and Shiro shook it.  
  
  
   ”You don’t have to worry,” Shiro said with a sparkle in his eye. ”Keith’s single,” he whispered before letting Lance’s hand go.  
  
  
   ”Wh-what I don- why would I worry? I-”  


 

   Shiro laughed with his head tilted back.  
  
  
   ”I’m just messing with you. Keith's in the shower, he’ll be out any minute now.”  
  


  
  
Shiro left the room with Strawberry at his heels. When they came back Shiro was, thankfully, wearing a shirt.

 

   ”So, Matt’s the kind of boyfriend who surprises you with pizza, huh?” Lance said awkwardly to try and start a conversation. He tried to discreetly take in his surroundings without making it obvious. He tried to call out to Strawberry mentally

 

   ”Oh, you have no idea. Matt’s the kind of person who likes to make big plans. He loves to plan surprises and adventures but doesn’t always know when he crosses a line, you know. He’s the most extroverted person on the planet and he can be a handful for people who aren't used to it.”

 

   ”He sounds like a great boyfriend though. For you. Not for me, I mean I haven’t even met how would I know what kind of a person he is like you do because you know him obviously because you’re his boyfriend and-”

 

   ”Lance.” Shiro held up a hand to stop Lance from talking. ”It’s okay,” he said slowly and looked right into Lance’s eyes and tried his very best to mentally tell Lance to chill.

 

   ”Yeah, okay. I’m sorry I’m just a bit anxious I guess, sorry,” Lance said and scooped Strawberry up from the floor as she was walking by.

 

   ”You don’t have to explain or apologise, I have anxiety too,” Shiro said rather casually. They shared a look that said ”we both have anxiety and it fucking sucks but it’s nice when you meet another person that can relate because no further explanation is needed”. They were quiet for a while and Lance felt much better with a cat in his lap now that he knew that Shiro wasn’t Keith’s super hot boyfriend that Lance didn’t have a chance against. The silence wasn't quite as awkward anymore and it actually was a little bit comfortable. Shiro seemed like a really calm and collected guy. While his boyfriend sounded more like Lance, to be honest. Energetic and affectionate.

 

    It turned out Lance couldn’t reflect on Matt’s and Shiro’s relationship for that long because the next thing he knew Keith was walking into the room. He hadn’t even heard the shower turning off, or the bathroom door opening, or anything. He had almost forgotten that he was in Keith’s apartment. How did he even forget about Keith?

 

   Keith was, like his brother, wearing black sweatpants and was currently drying his hair with a towel, so he didn’t see Lance straight away.

 

   ”Hey, Shiro, what are we gonna eat for dinner, I was thinking baked potatoes or-” Keith stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Lance in his sofa, in his living room, with his cat and his brother. Lance froze when he saw Keith, not only because it was, you know, Keith, but also because he wasn’t, like his brother before, wearing a shirt.  
 

  Lance’s eyes unconsciously darted over Keith’s flat chest and stomach for a second, noticing faint muscle lines and two thin scars under his breasts before he quickly, and rather dramatically, threw his hands up and slapped them before his eyes so hard it made a painful sound.

 

   ”SORRY!” he shouted and Strawberry, still in his lap, looked at him with an offended expression.

Keith just stood there with his mouth open, blushing and looking at the boy in his living room. The boy he’d been thinking about, yes, but he didn’t actually believe that his intense thinking would have the power to conjure Lance up from thin air. He was so shocked for a moment that him having magical powers wasn’t the most unthinkable thing. Then he glared at Shiro who was giggling with his hand in front of his mouth.

 

   ”Keith. Turn around and go put on a shirt.”

The fact that Shiro a) said this out loud and b) had to say it at all mortified Keith even more and he rushed into his room to find a shirt. When he was back Shiro was still giggling and Lance still had his hands in front of his face.

 

   ”Uh,” Keith cleared his throat. ”It’s safe to look now.”

   Lance spread his fingers and peeked through at Keith, just in case. When he didn’t see a shameful amount of skin he lowered his hands and went back to casually rubbing Strawberry’s fur.

 

   ”I’m gonna go make a phone call,” Shiro said and waved his phone in the air as if to show that he had a phone and he was actually going to use it. The boys were busy just looking at each other so he shuffled away into Keith’s room and shut the door behind him before pulling up Matt from his contacts.

 

   ”So, uh,” Keith said, rubbing the back of his neck. ”What are you doing here?”

 

   ”I came with pizza,” Lance said. Well that was clever now wasn’t it. ”Apparently your brother’s boyfriend wanted to surprise you guys or something.”

 

   ”Oh. Matt. Yeah, that sound’s like him.”

 

   ”And then Shiro invited me in. And here I am.”

   Keith nodded like agreeing that it was very reasonable what Lance was saying. They were in awkward silence for a moment before Keith carefully sat down at the other end of the sofa.

 

   ”You’re not wearing your work uniform,” he noted, glancing at Lance’s casual attire. Lance looked up and saw that Keith had pulled up his legs and was facing Lance entirely.

 

   ”No, my coworker had a date but had to work overtime so I stepped in for her last delivery. Unofficially, so don’t tell anyone,” Lance said. Keith smiled.

 

   ”I won’t.”

   And then they were silent again, not knowing what to say. Lance wanted to say something sweet, tell Keith that he looked good even in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his hair wet and untidy. Lance held his tongue though, he was in Keith’s space after all, he didn't want to overstep and act like a fuckboy.

 

   ”You don’t have to stay you know, just because Shiro invited you in,” Keith said suddenly.

 

   ”Oh, okay,” Lance answered. So Keith didn’t want Lance in his space. Maybe he’d exaggerated the bond he thought they shared in his head. They probably didn’t even have a bond. Oh man, Lance felt stupid now. He should leave.

 

   ”You can though,” Keith said unsteadily. ”I mean you can stay if you want, I don’t mind. But you don’t have to.”

 

   ”You don’t? Mind I mean?”

 

   ”Not at all,” Keith said and smiled a shy smile, face turned towards Lance but his fringe was in his eyes so their eyes didn’t meet.

 

   ”In that case, I’ll bother you and your princess here for a while,” Lance said with new confidence and felt some tension leave his body. Then he felt a foot nudging against his leg.

 

   ”What?”

 

   ”You’re not a bother,” Keith mumbled and Lance could see a hint of red tinted cheeks.

   They both jumped a little when Lance’s phone started to ring. Lance did his best to get it out of his pocket without having to push Strawberry out of his lap but finally got his phone up.

 

   ”Hey, Hunk,” he answered after looking at the screen.

 

   ”Hey, Lance, just saw you’d called earlier. What’s up?”

 

   ”Oh, uh, nothing important, just called to say that, uh, I’d be late for dinner because Frida called and asked me to take her last delivery since she had a date, so I’m out right now.”

 

   ”Yeah, Frida might have told me that the last order coinkydinkily happened to be to where a certain Keith lives?”

   Lance looked at Keith involuntarily when Hunk said his name, feeling his own cheeks turning pink.

 

   ”Wh- why did she tell you that? Also no-one says coinkydink anymore.”

   That made Keith giggle, which surprised Lance a lot since Keith didn’t exactly seem like the kind of guy who’d giggle, but it made Lance die a bit inside and he made a mental note to add it to the list. _”Things I know about Keith: cute giggle.”_

 

   ”Well I do,” Hunk said on the other end of the phone. Lance couldn't remember what they were talking about.

 

   ”Do what?”

 

   ”Say coinkydink. Are you there or are you drowning in someone’s eye’s?~” Hunk said in a sing-song voice.

 

   ”Sh-shut up. I’m gonna hang up now.”

   Hunk laughed loudly in the other end when Lance hung up. Keith was still smiling, as if close to laughter as well.

 

   ”Everything okay?” he asked, not out of concern but because Lance was pouting slightly.

 

   ”Yeah, Hunk just enjoys teasing me, that’s all. He’s my best friend.”

 

   ”Cool,” said Keith. Then it was quiet for a while again and Keith was so tense he had to use all his self-control not to laugh out loud at nothing. Lance’s eyes were flickering between Keith and literally everything else in the room and he felt a giggle grow inside of him as well. Naturally, neither of them lasted for very long and before they knew it they were both laughing and couldn’t stop. Keith kept nudging Lance with his feet and Lance kept batting them away and this went on until none of them could breathe. Their laughter slowly died out.

 

   ”Okay, I really need to pee,” Lance said and stood up after carefully replacing Strawberry. He got a loose gesture from Keith in the direction of the bathroom. Only when Lance had closed and locked the door behind him he realised that he’d just said that he needed to pee. In those exact words. That was so embarrassing! He pulled out his phone and sent a short text to Hunk that looked something like _”_ Tld _him I needed 2 p_ lk _a 3yro please kill me.”_

   After, well, peeing and washing his hands Lance had to take a few breaths before walking out to Keith again.

 

   ”Okay, so when we think back to this day can we ignore how awkward I’ve been?” Lance said while he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, cheeks pink and eyes not really focused on Keith.

 

   ”Only if we ignore how awkward I’ve been,” Keith answered. Lance smiled.

 

   ”Deal,” he said and stretched out his hand for Keith to shake.

 

   ”Deal.”

   Keith usually didn’t worry about small things like if his hands were sweaty or if he was still blushing after laughing so much or if his hair looked okay. But right now he worried. And then he and Lance didn’t let go of each other’s hands straight away but kept on shaking and Keith was looking up at the boy with warm skin and remembered that he had been called a prince by this gorgeous specimen of a human person. That thought made Keith even more embarrassed and that brought him to finally let go of Lance’s hand.

 

   Lance sat down on the sofa again, a bit disappointed that the cat had left.

 

   ”Where did our princess go?”

 

   ”She’ll come back. Just pretend like you don’t care whether she’s here or not and she’ll be all over you.”

 

   ”So I basically have to play hard to get. Or is it her that is playing hard to get?”

 

   ”Both? Or maybe you should just ask her out,” Keith suggested. Lance shrugged.

 

   ”You think she’d say yes? Or would she just walk away?”

   Keith thought about that for a moment, a theatrical frown on his face.

 

   ”She’d probably think she’s too good for you but then demand petting anyways.” Lance nodded in agreement.

 

   ”How about you?” Lance asked.

 

   ”Hm?”

 

   ”Would you say yes if I asked you out?”

   Wait did that just happen? Keith wasn’t sure. He thinks he heard right? But did Lance really just ask him if he would say yes if he asked him out? Like on a date? Like a romantic date with potential handholding? No that couldn’t be it now, could it? But what could he have said instead? That was almost harder to figure out.

   Keith’s thought process couldn’t have taken any more than a few seconds but his mouth was agape and he probably looked shocked or scared or both or something. Lance had had a similar freakout internally and was starting to understand that he had almost asked Keith on a date out loud. Well, he had actually. Kind of. Did this count?

   Okay, abort mission. For real this time.

 

   ”You know what,” Lance said really quickly and stood up again. ”Don’t answer that-” Keith drew in a breath as if to say something but Lance interrupted him. ”DO NOT answer anything because I just made a fool of myself and I’m gonna leeeeave-”

He was walking backwards and almost fell over his own shoes that were standing beside the door. ”And I’m just gonna keep on talking until I’m out of here so you don’t get the chance to say anything and honestly,” he put on his shoes. ”I’m so sorry I’m behaving really inappropriately and I hope you can forgive me and I can’t like move from town but I can make sure our paths never cross again,” he put on his jacket. ”Wow that sounded really stupid huuuuuhhhhhhh.”

Lance was now trying to find the door handle without turning around and he couldn’t seem to ramble in words anymore and was just making random noises. Keith had totally forgotten that this had sprung out from a possibly very awkward situation and just, watched. He didn’t see someone who’d embarrassed themselves, he just saw someone who was cute when he was embarrassed.

He didn’t feel like laughing at him, he wanted to laugh with him and squish his face and tell him how cute he was. And Keith never wanted to squish things. He didn’t even know that was in his vocabulary.

   Lance finally found the door handle and pressed it down. He almost fell backwards as the door fell open behind him but he kept his balance.

 

   ”Yes, uuuh, okay I’m leaving now. I-I’m sorry. Enjoy the pizza… BYE!” And he slammed the door shut and Keith could hear running steps in the stairwell.  


   And Lance ran like he was being chased and he got to his car in record time. He fumbled with his keys before successfully unlocking the door, getting in and starting the car. Thankfully he wasn’t so far gone that he would forget to put his seatbelt on but when he was about to start driving he loosened the clutch to fast and the car went quiet. This happened another two times before Lance could drive away from the street and begin his anxious drive home.

  
  
   Keith stared at the door. He couldn’t stop smiling. Lance had basically said that he’d like to go out with him. Him! Keith! And then he’d gotten shy and literally run away.

 

   ”That. Was. The best thing. I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life.”

   Keith whirled around and saw Shiro standing just outside of Keith’s room with his phone in his hand. He stared at Keith for a moment before putting the phone at his ear again.

 

   ”Matt how much of that did you catch?”  
   ”SHIRO WHAT THE FUCK!?” Keith shouted, still smiling though. He dived into the sofa, grabbed a pillow and threw it at Shiro, who easily caught it while listening intensely to what his boyfriend was saying. Apparently, Matt was excited because a frown appeared between Shiro’s eyebrows and he looked at Keith with an expression that said ”I can’t understand a word of what this guy is saying.” Then the shouting at the other end suddenly stopped and Shiro looked at the phone like he’d get any answers.

 

   ”Okay… So Matt’s on his way.”

 

   ”Oh my GOD SHIRO!”

 

* * *

 

 

  
   ”So how did it go?” Hunk asked as soon as Lance got home.

 

   ”How did what go?”

 

   ”You know, with Keith?”

 

   ”I think I need to sit down.”

 

   ”You need some water?” Hunk asked. ”I can get some for you if you want.”

 

   ”Hunk,” Lance said, looking up at his best friend, exhausted. ”I love you.”

 

   ”I love you too, Lance.”

   In the kitchen, he checked his phone again and went over the text conversation he’d had with Matt earlier.  
  
  
From: Steve

To: Hunk

    I’m talking to Takashi and K and L are in the living room. Alone!

 

  
From: Hunk

To: Steve

    I know just called Lance back.

 

  
From: Steve

To: Hunk

    Shiro says that they’re laughing

 

  
From: Hunk

To: Steve

    I got this cryptic message from Lance:    *inserted screenshot if Lance’s text; ”Tld him I needed 2 p lk a 3yro please kill me”*

 

  
From: Steve

To: Hunk

    I’m liking L more and more.

 

  
From: Steve

To: Hunk

    OMG STUFF IS HAPPENING

 

  
From: Hunk

To: Steve 

    ???????!!!!??!?!

 

  
From: Steve

To: Hunk  
 

   Okay Lance left, I’m gonna head over there. I’ll update you when I know more.

 

  
From: Hunk

To: Steve  
 

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

  
Hunk smiled down at his phone while he opened the freezer and got the ice cube tray out. He sent a quick text before popping a couple of cubes in a glass and filling it with cold water.

  
From: Hunk

To: Steve  
 

   He’s home now and is gonna tell me how it went. Call you later.  


 

Hunk added a straw to the glass, just for fun.

 

  
From: Steve

To: Hunk  
 

   I’ll get the scoop from Keith in the meantime. Ttyl

 

  
   ”Thank’s man,” Lance said when Hunk handed him the glass. Hunk sat down and got a coaster from the shelf under the sofa table.

 

   ”So,” Hunk began. ”Tell me. Everything.” Lance let out a heavy breath and put the glass on the coaster after taking a sip from the straw.

 

   ”I assume you’ve heard the basics from Frida?”

 

   ”She had a date, you stepped in, pizza for Keith, yeah yeah, go on,” Hunk rushed on. Everyone liked gossip once in a while. Hunk, on the other hand, fed on it like a vampire on blood and needed it to live.

 

   ”So I knock on Keith’s door but he didn’t open it. It is this really, really hot guy. And I get really confused but I wasn’t in the wrong building or anything it was the right apartment because Strawberry showed up and like saved me from freaking out. That cat is literally a saint, Hunk, I swear.”

 

   As if on queue Blueberry jumped onto the armrest of the sofa. Lance held out his hand and his cat came to head-butt his fingers.

 

   ”But so this guy asks me if I’m Lance and invites me in. But he didn’t order the pizzas and is confused. Oh yeah, did I mention that he was _shirtless_?!”

   Hunk gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.

 

   ”No way! Lance are you sure this isn’t the opening to a porno?”

 

   ”It might as well have been!” Lance shouted and flailed with the arm that wasn’t concentrated on Blueberry. ”But here I am with a cat in my lap in Keith’s living room with a drop dead gorgeous shirtless dude. And then he says that his boyfriend ordered the pizzas. And Hunk I swear, I had a heart attack and I was thinking that he meant _Keith_ , that _Keith_ was this guys’ boyfriend and like how could I compete with him, he was ripped, I’m talking unreal abs. Like photoshop abs, Hunk.”

 

   ”This is a porno,” Hunk mumbled. He knew that Lance was talking about Matt’s boyfriend, who apparently was super hot.

 

   ”And then he like reads my mind and says that his boyfriend _Matt_ ordered the pizzas and that he’s Keith’s brother. And here I was afraid that I’d been flirting with a person that wasn’t available. And then, AND THEN, he says that I don’t have to worry because Keith is single. And I’m like was I that obvious?!”

 

   ”Oh. My. Goodness!”

 

   ”I know. Then he says Keith’s in the shower and puts a shirt on and comes back and sits down to talk to me. And it was weird but felt kinda normal you know? And we talk about his boyfriend how he must be great and I ramble, you know like I do when I’m nervous, and he says that it’s okay and that he’s got anxiety too. So we had like a bonding moment over anxiety, but like, mentally you know?”

   Hunk nods, eager to hear the rest of the story. But Lance pauses and puts his head in his hands.

 

   ”And then…” he says into his palms.  
 

  ”And then?”  
 

  Long breath from Lance.  
 

  ”Then Keith came in,” he squeaked.  


  ”Yeah?”  
 

  ”And Hunk. He was shirtless too,” Lance almost whines and looks up at Hunk with pained eyes.  
 

[ ”Iiiiiiihhh,” Hunk literally squeals.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbx6M7c7uWQ)

 

   ”And then he notices me mid-sentence and I just feel like a creep and I can’t help but look at him, you know. He was muscular but so soft, Hunk. Soft. But like you could see that he liked to work out. And then I realise that I’m staring at Keith’s naked chest so I cover my eyes and yell sorry like an idiot.”

 

   ”At least you apologised, that’s good, Lance,” Hunk reassured him.

 

   ”And he must have been really surprised to see me there, like who wouldn’t have been it was so stupid, and he went and put some clothes on. Then Shiro freaking left us alone and I felt like twelve feelings at once.”

 

   ”Oooh I feel like we’re progressing in the story,” Hunk said, clapping his hands together a few time but still covering his mouth. Lance reached for his glass and took another few sips of water.

 

   ”So then Keith says I don’t have to stay just because I was invited in, and I get worried that he doesn’t want me there, I mean I invaded his privacy and perved all over him and his brother. But then he says that I can stay and that he doesn’t mind. And then you called. And I guess he was a bit nervous too because we just started laughing together, you know like when everything seems funny and you can’t stop?”

   Hunk nodded.

 

   ”And then I said I needed to pee. Who even does that? I could have said that I needed the bathroom, or like literally anything else. That’s when I texted you.”

 

   ”I don’t know Lance, you could have said whizz palace and that could have been really bad if he didn’t get the reference.”

   Lance thought about this for a moment. ”You know, Hunk, you’re right. It could have been a lot worse. Also we should rewatch Parks and rec.”

 

   ”We really should. What happened next?”

 

   ”Honestly, it only gets worse from here. I basically told him how awkward I was and he said that he was awkward too and we made a deal that we would ignore that in the future and we shook on it but we shook hands just a tad too long, you know? And then I asked where his cat went and he said that she’d be back if I didn’t show that I wanted to cuddle with her, you know, like cats work? And then like I asked him if he thought she’d say yes if I asked her out and he said that probably not and then…”

Lance stopped talking and grabbed a pillow that was lying beside him, burying his face in it. ”I can’t say this Hunk. I can’t”

 

   ”Lance, no, don’t leave me hanging.”

 

   ”I don’t know what got over me. Why I said it.” Hunk had to lean in to hear Lance’s voice through the pillow.

 

   ”Just say it and it’ll be over. It can’t be as bad as you think anyway, it never is you know that. And also you’re killing me right now.”

 

   ”Okay. Okay. I asked him if he’d say yes if I asked _him_ out.”

 

   ”No. Freaking. Way. O-M-G Lance, you asked him out?!” Hunk was about to stand up and do a happy dance but Lance looked up, grabbed his sleeve and dragged him back down again.

 

   ”I didn’t give him a chance to answer. I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries I mean, it was like the third time we’d met like, ever. I can’t just ask him out like that. Especially after I’d just seen him shirtless he must have thought I just asked him out for sex. So I panicked and started to leave and just went on saying random things until I had closed the door. And then I ran.”

 

   ”You ran?”

 

   ”I ran!”

 

   ”Literally? Just ran?”

 

   ”I just ran. Literally.”

   Lance leaned back, exhausted.

 

   ”But I don’t think he was creeped out, or I don’t know, maybe it’s just wishful thinking.”

 

   ”Elaborate,” Hunk said, still a 100 percent in the conversation.

 

   ”Well like I was worried that I’d overstepped, again, gosh it feels like it’s all I do. But he didn’t look like grossed out or something and he was smiling. Or laughing at me, I’m not sure. I kinda wish I’d just given him my number instead. Hunk why am I like this?”

 

   ”Lance, the ”this” you are referring too isn’t a bad thing. It might not work for everyone but it is what makes you, well, you. And it’s what makes you special. It’s not the end of the world if you and Keith don’t click or hit it off, you deserve someone who loves you for who you are and how you are.”

 

   ”Life would be so much easier if you and I could just fall in love,” Lance said, head tilted backwards and staring blankly up at the ceiling. Hunk chuckled.

 

   ”I don’t know, maybe we work as best friends but not as a couple?”

 

   ”Nah, we’d be perfect,” Lance said. ”But I think I’d have to break up with you because yeah, I’m kinda into this guy?”

   Hunk gasped dramatically.

 

   ”How dare you?!”

   Lance just shrugged with a smug look and exploded in laughter when Hunk attacked him with tickles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter. I don't even care that I was the one that wrote it, I love it and I'm proud of it and myself.
> 
> So what's gonna happen next? Any guesses? Humor me ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!


	7. Delivery on it's way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keith tells Matt and Shiro his side of the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Publishes a short chapter, hoping it will unlock the secrets of writing  
> The chapter: is very short

Matt didn’t open the door when he got to Keith’s apartment. It was more like he broke through it.

”I want to hear everything start from the beginning,” he said in one breath as he didn’t even take off his shoes or jacket before he threw himself onto the sofa after grabbing Keith and pulling him down with him.

 

”Speak, child,” Matt said, eyes wide and staring.

 

”Take off your damn shoes I vacuumed yesterday!”

 

”Keith, you are saying all the wrong things,” Matt said but he still listened and took off his outerwear and threw it over his shoulder in the general direction of the door. Shiro smiled with a happy heart and went and picked up Matt’s things and put them away.   
Then he went back and kissed Matt on the top of his head before climbing over and sitting down beside his boyfriend. Matt leaned back against Shiro but didn’t take any focus from Keith. He barely blinked.

 

”Speak,” Matt said again, or, demanded more like. Shiro smiled with squinted eyes before mimicking Matt’s expression.

 

”Yeah, Keith. Speak,” he said. Keith sighed.

 

”Okay, okay, I’ll talk,” Keith said and held his hands above his head in defeat. ”Geez. Alright so I got out of the shower and Lance was here.”

 

”Noo, the beginning,” Matt interrupted. 

 

”I don’t have the beginning I was in the shower!”

 

”Okay,” Matt said while nodding. He tilted his body sideways and looked at Shiro. ”Speak.”

 

”Matt, I don’t have the beginning either, you were the one who ordered the pizzas,” Shiro said. ”So you have the beginning.”

 

”Oh,” Matt said with an embarrassed expression.

 

”Speak,” Keith and Shiro said in unison after sharing a look and all three of them started laughing.

 

”Okay, but honestly dude,” Keith said after a moment. ”What the fuck?”

 

”Language, Keith,” Shiro said out of habit with no actual meaning behind the words. ”But yeah, Matt, explain please.”

 

”Well…” Matt started. ”I thought that it would be a good idea to surprise Keith? Maybe?” He spoke slowly and watched Keith carefully as to see how Keith reacted. 

 

”So I ordered pizza. From the place where Lance works,” Matt realised a second too late that Lance actually hadn’t been working today and that the whole thing was possible thanks to Hunk.

 

”And…” he continued. ”I just wished really hard that it would be Lance that delivered the pizzas?” Keith’s expression didn’t change much other than that one of his eyebrows inched a little higher.

 

”Really? That’s all?”

 

”That’s all. And I wanted pizza and you two had been working out so well so I thought I’d treat you. And if I treated you to your eye candy- ouch!” Keith had kicked Matt with his heel right on his thigh. ”If I treated you to your eye candy that would just be a plus.”   
Matt rubbed his soon to be bruised area with his hand and turned around slightly and pouted at Shiro. ”He kicked me,” Matt mumbled quietly. ”It hurt.”

 

Shiro kissed Matt’s temple and nuzzled his nose into his hair for a second.

 

”So you basically just ordered us pizzas and Lance just happened to deliver them,” Keith asked, not convinced.

 

”That’s literally what I just told you,” Matt said matter of factly.

 

”Nothing more to it?”

 

”Nothing more. Not at all.” Matt felt Shiro discreetly poking his side, clearly not believing his story. ”Okay, Shiro. Now it’s your turn. Speak,” Matt said and tried to hurry it along before they asked more questions.   
Things did seem too unlikely to have fallen into place like this at random and the more the brothers pried, the higher risk that Matt’s super plan would be discovered.   
Shiro made a mental note to get to the bottom of this later with Matt but without Keith in the room.

 

”Alright, so I showered before Keith when we got back from the gym. Then the doorbell rang and I opened the door and saw Lance, with pizza. I got confused since we weren’t expecting pizza,” Shiro said and emphasised the last words and poked Matt's side with every word, making him giggle. He was crazy ticklish. 

 

"But I got a hunch and asked if he was Lance and invited him in. I mean I couldn’t not invite him since he’s Keith’s eye candy and all,” Shiro said with the biggest grin. Keith gasped almost theatrically and tried to kick Shiro but hit Matt instead who complained loudly (”You boys will be the death of me.”).

 

”He seemed really nervous but Strawberry made him feel better and I mean a friend of Strawberry’s is a friend of Keith’s,” Shiro continued.

 

”Yeah, they like each other,” Keith said without acknowledging that last part and turned to look if he could see the cat. ”Don’t they,” he shouted off into the apartment, just in case she was listening.

 

”So I told him that my boyfriend must have ordered the pizzas, because I put two and two together, and I’m pretty sure he thought I meant Keith and quickly reassured him that that was not the case and that Keith’s single,” Shiro said and smiled the smile you smile when you know someone likes someone who likes them back.

 

”You what?!” Keith shrieked.

 

”I told your crush that you’re single!” Shiro said with a big smile. Matt was holding his hands in front of his face in a dorky karate pose, ready to fight off whatever Keith was gonna attack Shiro with. ”What would you have me say?”

 

”I don’t know?!” Keith shouted. His expression was a tad more freaked out than before. Just a tad.

 

”What happened next?” Matt asked.

 

”We made small talk and then Keith came in.”

 

”Oooooooh,” Matt said.

 

”And he wasn’t wearing a shirt,” Shiro fake whispered.

 

”OOOOOOOOOOHH,” Matt said.

 

”Oh shut up,” Keith said and made a motion as if he was going to kick Matt again.

 

”And then what happened? Matt asked.

 

”Well I left, so it’s Keith’s turn to tell.”

 

”Speak boy!” Matt said.

 

”Yeah yeah, shut up. I put on a shirt and got back and I was freaking out. I asked him what he was doing here because, I mean, he was wearing his normal clothes, not work clothes. He told me he stepped in for a coworker last minute,” Keith explained.

 

”Oh, did he now,” Shiro mumbled so quietly only Matt could hear him.

 

”And I didn’t want him to feel pressured to stay so I told him that he didn’t have to, but then I didn’t want him to feel unwelcome so I said that he could stay if he wanted to and that he wasn’t a bother. Then his friend called and like, wow, he was so cute when he was on the phone? He teased his friend about using the word coinkydink? And he was glancing at me the whole time and was, I don’t know, embarrassed?”

 

”I think the word you’re looking for is flustered,” Matt interrupted matter of factly.

 

”I- whatever,” Keith said while a blush crept up upon his face. ”He was cute. He’s really cute you guys.”

 

”Yeah yeah, we know, now get going with the story already,” Matt said.

 

”You were the one interrupting me!”

 

”Not the point here, Keith. Shiro, back me up.”

 

”No,” Shiro said.

 

”Guys, shut up. I was so nervous I had to concentrate with my whole being not to laugh at everything and then it got quiet and awkward but he looked at me and I laughed and he laughed and I thought I was gonna die or something. Can you die from nervous laughter?”

 

”Mhfhhrh,” Matt said. Shiro had put his hand over his boyfriend’s mouth. He was tired of the interruptions.

 

”No you cannot, please continue,” Shiro said.

 

”Okay so then he went to the bathroom and I got scared that he’d leave because now he was standing up and when you get back from the bathroom it’s very easy to say something like ’yeah so I gotta go’ and I didn’t want him to go.”

 

Matt waved his arms around for a couple of seconds before settling down again. Nobody understood what he wanted to say.

 

”But he got back and sat down again. Then we agreed to ignore how awkward we both were and shook hands on it but we shook for too long and he must have thought I was so weird. Then we started talking about Strawberry, about how she was playing hard to get and all since she’s a cat. I’m not sure when but somehow he stopped talking about the cat and started talking about me I think?”

 

”I walked in somewhere around here,” Shiro added. Keith half-heartedly flipped Shiro off.

 

”Then he asked me out. I think,” Keith said slowly. Matt had managed to get free from Shiro’s hold and shot up from the sofa.

 

”Hell yeah he did!” Matt did a little victory dance but stopped mid-move. ”What, did you say? Please tell me you said yes and that you’re going on a very romantic date and are gonna hold hands and stuff?”

 

”He didn’t give me a chance. He kinda flipped out and started talking nonsense to keep me from answering, then he left.” Keith smiled at the memory.

 

”I’m not the one to laugh at others, I never am, and I’m not exactly laughing, but what I witnessed here today, in this very room, was amazing.”

 

”Shut up,” Keith muttered for the hundredth time that day while trying to suppress his smile.

 

”He was adorable and Keith’s face was somewhere in between shock and glee,” Shiro said. 

 

Matt didn’t mean to, he really didn’t, but he couldn’t help but feel a teeny tiny sting of jealousy. Shiro rarely complimented other guys. It didn’t matter that this was his little brother’s crush, it was still another guy. Matt swallowed and pushed down his negative feelings.

 

”Look at our baby brother, he’s in love,” Matt said and went to squeeze Keith’s cheeks.

 

”Stop it~,” Keith whined.

 

”But you’re so adorable. Shiro, look at him.”

 

”Shiro, save me!” Keith shouted as Matt went from squeezing his face to laying on top of him.

 

”You’re my pillow now,” Matt said.

 

”In that case,” Shiro said. ”You’re my pillow.” And then he sprawled himself on top of Matt, crushing poor Keith under the weight of them both.

 

"I fucking hate you both,” Keith forced through his crushed lungs.

 

”Don’t swear,” Shiro said.

 

”You fucking love us,” Matt said.

 

”Don’t swear in front of the child,” Shiro said.

 

”I’m not a fucking child.”

 

”Yeah, he’s not a fucking child, Shiro.”

 

”You’re both acting like fucking children,” Shiro said.

 

”Language!” Keith and Matt shouted in unison. Shiro just smiled softly before grabbing on to Matt and tipping them over so he fell to the floor with Matt on top of him. Matt had desperately tried to cling on to Keith who slid off the sofa and got stuck between the older boys and said sofa.

 

”Revenge!” he shouted and hooked his leg around Matt’s, squeezing him as tightly as he could and not letting go no matter how much Matt howled. Shiro just looked at his boyfriend and his brother, feeling his chest getting tight and tears filled his eyes.   
He really loved his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know, I wish I had more at the moment but honestly, life has gotten in the way. You know how it is.
> 
> Some people have messaged me on tumblr, asking about updates and encouraging me without applying pressure and honestly, it kinda made me cry. I've never gotten anons before. Makes me feel really important :p
> 
> Also holy shit new season soon (UGH where tf is the trailer i'm desperate)  
> (started to edit this chapter in ao3 before the trailer hit and now it's here and i'm screaming)
> 
> Vrepit sa, bitches!
> 
> I love you


End file.
